Darion Monroe had his passing game taken away from him on Friday night at St. James. Luckily, the East St. John junior was able to control the game using his feet, rushing for 97 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, with 82 of those yards and two scores coming in a dominant fourth quarter performance as ESJ downed St. James, 35-12. 

“We tried to force it to D’haquille (Williams) early, but they had him double covered”, said East St. John coach Larry Dauterive. “We were forced to make some adjustments at halftime”.

Whatever adjustments were discussed clearly had a positive impact on the coach’s team. The visiting Wildcats ceded no points after the half and blew open a once close game, finishing with an impressive 35-12 victory.

D’haquille Williams was harassed by St. James senior cornerback Alonzo Lewis all evening, catching only three balls for 62 yards. Nevertheless, he found a way to make an impact, taking the game’s first punt 74 yards for a touchdown midway through the 1st quarter. St James responded two plays later, when running back Kenneth Armant broke loose on a 77-yard scoring run.

East St. John’s following drive ended when a pass intended for Williams was instead intercepted by Lewis. The home team was unable to wring any points from the turnover and punted the ball away. The second quarter saw another touchdown exchange; after rushing for a touchdown on the first drive of the quarter, St. James manned a scoring drive of their own. After converting a gutsy fourth down conversion, junior running back Junius Champagne crossed the goal line, bringing the halftime score to 14-12 in favor of the visitors.

They would not score again, but St. James coach Rick Gaille was encouraged by his team’s play nonetheless.

“We’re starting to learn how to play”, he said. “The effort level is better on the field and on the sideline. But we have to develop a method of not getting discouraged. In the second half, especially defensively, I thought we got discouraged”.

East St. John looks to remain undefeated next Saturday in their second consecutive road game when they take on Rummel. St. James will attempt to reverse their fortunes at Patterson.