Wildcats in the hunt: St. James and Destrehan lead River Parishes in playoff push – GeauxPreps

by: Lori Lyons // GeauxPreps.com Staff

In the penultimate week of the 2024 high school football season, it’s all about the Wildcats for the River Parishes.

Only two River Parishes teams remain in the semifinal rounds of the playoffs this week – St. James and Destrehan, both Wildcats. And both are serious contenders for a place in the final, which will be played at Caesars Superdome next week. You’ve been there before.

And there are no strangers in this semi-final.

St. James was the Division III state runner-up last season, losing 36-35 to Union Parish at the Superdome. And the Mighty Wildcats will face him in the semifinals this week. 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 wasn’t fun watching the film of last year’s heartbreaking finale. The Farmers, who had gone to the finals three years in a row only to finish second, won on their fourth trip thanks to a last-minute touchdown and a “courageous” 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 see the experience they had had there over the successive years. They benefited from that.”

Davis said he and the coaching staff definitely learned some lessons.

“Try to be as simple and consistent as possible,” Davis said. “Make these things really easy 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 one 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’ score. It was the sixth straight win for St. James (9-2), with its only losses coming against 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 big wins against Northwood (63-21) and Airline (69-41), the Wildcats (11-3) get to travel a little further east to face No. 3 Ruston (10-2).

Coach Marcus Scott said the trip was 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 in the last 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 and then lost to Zachary in the championship game. In 2022, Destrehan defeated Ruston 17-10 to capture its fifth state title.

But the Bearcats are the defending, unselected Division I state champions.

“These guys are always a challenge,” Scott said. “It’s always a fight. We were lucky to win those battles, but they were very tough. There were some heated arguments 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 difficult 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 last seven games and scored 11 touchdowns in the last two games.

“He doesn’t realize how many he has until the end of the game,” Scott said. “In a close game it’s always about paying attention to the football, being solid in the kicking game and trying to win possession – a turnover or a few punts. You have to try to get some extra possessions for your offense.”