By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

It took Destrehan a little while to get going.

St. Amant battled host Destrehan to a scoreless tie at halftime Friday night, and few could believe it — this was, after all, a matchup between the No. 2 ranked defending state champion Wildcats and a winless Gators squad that allowed 69 points to East St. John a week prior.

But the Wildcats indeed got it going in the second half, and won its 21st consecutive game 24-0 in front of its home fans Friday night.

Wynrick Smothers was 13-of-25 for 223 yards and rushed for a score to lead Destrehan (6-0, 2-0) to the win. Corey Vidal caught five passes for 90 yards.

Destrehan dominated the stat sheet, outgaining the Gators (0-6, 0-2) 344 to 154, and held St. Amant to only four first downs.

Myron Smith got the Wildcats rolling in the second half, his 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter putting Destrehan ahead 7-0.

Ryan Rome’s 34-yard field goal extended that lead to 10-0 before the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, Destrehan put the game away with two touchdown runs. Marshall Charles scored his first touchdown of the season to make it 17-0. Then, with under four minutes remaining, Smothers’ 20-yard touchdown run capped the scoring in the game.

With the win in hand, Destrehan turns its attention to Friday night, and a game that could present the greatest threat so far to the defending 5A champions’ win streak — a trip to East St. John and a battle with the ‘other’ River Parish Wildcats awaits.