Wildcats on the Hunt: St. James and Destrehan Lead River Parishes in Playoff Push
by: Lori Lyons // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
As we reach the penultimate week of the 2024 high school football season, it’s all about the Wildcats for the River Parishes.
Only two teams from the River Parishes are still playing in this week’s semifinal rounds of the playoffs — St. James and Destrehan, both Wildcats. And both are serious contenders to reach the finals to be played next week in the Caesars Superdome. They’ve been there before.
And there are no strangers in these semifinals.
St. James was the Division III non-select state runner-up last season, losing to Union Parish, 36-35, on the Superdome carpet. And that is who the Mighty Wildcats face this week in the semifinals. But this time the No. 5 Farmers (9-4) will travel to the cane fields of Vacherie for Friday night’s contest.
Wildcats coach LaVanta Davis said this is not a revenge game.
“It’s more of a redemption game,” he said.
Davis said it was no fun watching the film from last year’s heart-breaking final. The Farmers, who had been to the finals three consecutive years only to come away with a runner-up trophy, won on their fourth trip thanks to a last-minute touchdown and a “gutsy” two-point conversion that gave them a 36-35 win.
“They were who they were,” Davis said. “To be honest, they played to win. You could tell the experience they had being there in consecutive years. They benefitted from that.”
Davis said he and the coaching staff definitely learned a few lessons.
“Try to be as simple and consistent as possible,” Davis said. “Make these things real simple for these young men and allow them to play faster and think less.”
St. James advanced to the semifinals with an impressive 26-7 victory over No. 9 Pine. Freshman quarterback Jajuan Jackson threw two touchdown passes to Jakias Villanueva, one for 20 yards and the other for 55 yards. Jye Blaine turned an interception into a 38-yard touchdown. And Kendrick Joseph Jr. scored from 10 yards out to cap the Wildcats’ scoring. It was the sixth win in a row for St. James (9-2), whose only losses were to Terrebonne and Archbishop Shaw.
The Destrehan Wildcats could change their mascot to the Road Warriors this season. After back-to-back trips to Shreveport and coming away with big wins against Northwood (63-21) and Airline (69-41), the Wildcats (11-3) get to travel a little more east to take on No. 3 Ruston (10-2).
Coach Marcus Scott said the travel is inconsequential.
“They just get on the bus and go play,” Scott said.
These two teams are no strangers either.
Destrehan and Ruston have faced each other three times over the past four years with Destrehan winning all three. In 2020 Destrehan won 6-0 on a scoop-and score. In 2021 the Wildcats won 24-10 in the semifinals then went on to lose to Zachary in the championship game. In 2022, Destrehan defeated Ruston 17-10 for its fifth state title.
But the Bearcats are the defending Division I non-select state champions.
“These guys are always a challenge,” Scott said. “It’s always a battle. We’ve been fortunate to win these battles, but they’ve been very tough. There have been some knock-down-drag-outs between us.”
This game should be no exception. Senior quarterback Joshua Brantley, the MVP of last year’s title game who signed with Tulane on Wednesday, accounted for five touchdowns in the Bearcats 49-7 quarterfinal win over No. 6 Southside last week.
But the Bearcats will face the tough task of trying to stop Destrehan sophomore running back Malachi Dabney, who ran for more than 200 yards and five touchdowns last week. He has rushed for more than 200 yards four times in the past seven games and has scored 11 touchdowns in the last two games.
“He doesn’t even realize how many he has until the end of the game,” Scott said. “In a close game, it’s always going to come down to taking care of the football, being sound in the kicking game, and trying to steal a possession – a turnover or a couple of punts in there. You’ve got to try to get a few extra possessions for your offense.”