By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

Reynaldo Young’s 53-yard touchdown run with 7:14 left in the fourth quarter was the game-winner at Joe Keller Stadium Friday night as East St. John moved to 3-0 with a 34-27 victory over visiting St. James.

“It’s three more wins than most people thought we’d have at this point,” said East St. John coach Larry Dauterive. “These kids are too young to know that they’re not supposed to be good. But it’s back to the old cliché, we go one game at a time.”

St. James’ potent offense was again led by its triple threat at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. Passer Kalen Henderson rushed for 76 yards and two scores and passed for another. At tailback, Young had his third 100 yard game in as many tries with a 170 yard, two score effort. Receiver Dhaquille Williams hauled in five catches for 98 yards and a score.

“They’ve got three gamebreakers to account for every play. It makes things difficult on you to say the least,” said St. James coach Rick Gaille.

Antoine Landry led St. James, completing 6-of-9 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for 84 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

But it was the yardage he didn’t pick up that proved fatal to St. James’ chances. After Young’s go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, Landry broke loose on his team’s ensuing possession, scrambling for an apparent 52-yard gain to the ESJ 10. But an illegal procedure penalty wiped it out – an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a sack followed, and East St. John held on from there.

“We couldn’t afford those kinds of mistakes in that spot,” said Gaille.

Jaleel Steib’s 19-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put St. James ahead 27-20.

East St. John drew within one on a Kalen Henderson 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

East St. John tied the score right before halftime after getting a break on special teams. St. James (0-3) blocked a punt with two minutes left in the second quarter, but the Wildcats’ Curtis Taylor picked the ball up and advanced for the first down.

From there, Henderson found Williams deep at the SJH 11. A play later, he threw a fade to Williams in the endzone.

“He dropped it right into the basket, with three guys around (Williams),” said Dauterive.

Henderson and Young added first half scoring runs of 28 and 43 yards, respectively. Landry scored St. James’ first touchdown on a 43-yard run, and Steib added a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

The second quarter also saw the longest play of the night, Alonzo Lewis’ 91-yard catch and run from Landry that gave SJH a 20-13 lead.

“Our defense sends pressure, and its feast or famine,” said Dauterive. “There’s often no help back there. (Lewis) is just a great athlete. You credit them – they just made some big plays.”

Dauterive said that the St. James team he saw on the field Friday didn’t resemble the one he’d seen on tape all week.

“They came at us with a vengeance,” said Dauterive. “They gave us all we could handle.”

But even with two victories in his teams first two weeks, the win may have carried even more weight given the circumstances of the previous week.

Dauterive had only a week prior served a one-game suspension for allegedly using a racial slur while addressing his team after its jamboree loss to St. Charles.

He said the win was just what the doctor ordered.

“It was the tonic I needed,” he said. “It was a very hard week for me.

“To struggle the way we did, up through the School Board meeting Thursday…this was much needed on my part for sure. I hope its all behind us now.”