By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

GEISMAR — East St. John kept things close for the majority of Saturday’s district clash with Dutchtown, but the Griffins got loose late to finish the Wildcats 4-0 at DHS.

“We competed with them most of the way,” said East St. John coach Paul Dupuy. “We’re starting to improve, but we’ve got a little ways to go.”

The Wildcats started the first half shorthanded – Dupuy temporarily benched some starters for disciplinary reasons in the first half, and Dutchtown – a state quarterfinalist a season ago — took advantage to the tune of a quick 2-0 lead within the match’s first 10 minutes.

ESJ appeared to cut the lead to a goal when DeChris Strong put one into the net late in the first half, but he was called for a penalty and the score was waved off due to excessive contact.

“I felt it was a 50-50 ball, but they felt he shouldered the guy,” said Dupuy.

“But we played through it and kept our heads.”

Back to full strength, ESJ held Dutchtown to its two goals for much of the second half, but couldn’t break through on the offensive side of things.

The Griffins put it away late in the half though with a score in the final 10 minutes, then added another for good measure before the final whistle.

“Even an athletic team like we have is no match for really strong passing,” said Dupuy. “That’s what Dutchtown’s all about. We’re in a place where we tend to pass as much to the opposition as to one another. But when you can move it around like they do…they are where we want to be.”

Defensively, Dupuy was quite pleased with his team’s effort.

“They talked and worked together. I thought we worked a lot harder and played a lot better than we have been,” said Dupuy.