By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

The Destrehan girls squad and the West St. John’s boys team picked up victories over district foes last week while their counterpart Fighting Wildcats and Lady Rams dropped out of playoff contention.

The WSJ boys team, who can clinch their division this week against North Iberville, held onto their first place ranking in 9-2A when they smashed East Iberville 100-59 on Friday. The Lady Wildcats of Destrehan secured a solid grip on the second spot in their district as they held on for a 47-39 win over Ehret.

For West St. John, the Rams jumped out quickly in the first quarter and led 36-16 by the half. The Ehret defense was out-gunned in the final two periods as well, giving up 37 and 27 points in the third and fourth to fall by a score of 100-59.

The win puts the Rams at 17-6, 6-0 on the season with the chance to capture the district title this Friday. The Rams are the defending 2A state champions.

The DHS girls game on Friday featured two teams vying for the second place spot behind East St. John in district 5-5A. Destrehan started off slowly, but picked it up before halftime to take a 26-17 lead by the break. Led by Shunna Richard’s 11 points, the Lady Wildcats extended their lead to nine in the third and slowed things down but held on for the eventual 47-43 win. The victory puts DHS at 19-7, 5-2 on the season, and gives them a firm hold on a playoff spot.

The Destrehan boys and the West St. John girls didn’t fare as well, as both teams assured themselves of missing the playoffs this season with convincing losses. The DHS boys’ squad fell to 1-4 in district after a 67-36 loss to Ehret and the WSJ girls’ tumbled to 2-6 in district with their 72-62 loss to East Iberville.