By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux has asserted that while his Wildcats fell short of reaching the postseason a year ago, the program was heading back in the right direction.
And how, if Thursday night’s performance at the Ed Reed River Parishes Jamboree was any indication.
Destrehan’s Donovan Isom was on fire, completing 16 of 18 pass attempts for 284 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled to a 35-13 victory over Lutcher at Hahnville.
 Combined with his scrimmage performance against Salmen, Isom has completed 34 of 40 pass attempts over the past two weeks.
The Utah commitment tossed two of those touchdown passes Thursday to Kirk Merritt, who transferred from Newman this summer. Merritt hauled in touchdown receptions of 60 and 38 yards.
“I’ve got a great group of wide receivers,” said Isom. “(Merritt) is very talented. He’ll get a lot of scholarship offers.”
Robicheaux said after last week’s scrimmage that Merritt could add the missing ingredient to a deep cast of weapons. His deep speed compliments a bevy of receivers that control the middle of the field and are strong runners after the catch.
“He can take the top off the defense,” said Robicheaux. “It’s something we needed. We’ve got some great wide receivers. He had a great game tonight and he’s a great kid. We finally have a guy that can go the distance.”
Will Mathews had a big night as well at tailback, rushing for two touchdowns and 66 yards on nine carries.
Destrehan started things off Thursday with a long 10-play drive capped by a Mathews 2-yard scoring run.
Lutcher, which had won two of the previous three jamboree meetings between the teams, fired right back. Destin Porter’s 58-yard kickoff return set up a 3-yard touchdown run by LHS quarterback Christian Matherne that tied the game.
“I thought it was gonna be a track meet at that point,” said Lutcher coach Tim Detillier. “But I think we may have been a little outmanned.”
Destrehan countered via a Isom to Alfred Smith 39-yard scoring strike. After a bad snap on the PAT attempt, Michael Smith scooped the ball up and rushed it in for a 2-point conversion to make it 15-7.
“I thought Donovan threw well, and the offensive line protected him,” said Robicheaux. “They opened holes when we needed it and our receivers did a really nice job catching the ball tonight.”
Then Merritt flashed that deep speed. After a Destrehan defensive stop, Isom lofted a deep ball to Merritt on a fly route, the 5-foot-6-inch speedster coasting in for a 60-yard score. A fake field goal on the PAT was stopped and the score remained 21-7.
Isom and Merritt connected again one more time before the half, this time on a 38-yarder to make it 28-7.
Lutcher backup quarterback Jontre Kirklin pulled the Bulldogs within two scores when he hit Sully Martin on a jumpball in the endzone, 26 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-13 after the first possession of the second half.
“The defense gave up some big plays. We have to clean that up,” said Robicheaux.
But Destrehan all but finished things off when Mathews capped off Destrehan’s next drive with a tackle-busting 20-yard run for a touchdown.
Destrehan finally slowed the pace after that drive, but prior to it the Wildcats ran a no-huddle to perfection, keeping a blistering pace with the first team in.
“That’s our tempo,” said Robicheaux. “Sometimes I think it hurts us on defense when we score so quickly. But we believe in that tempo for our offense. We try to tire them out and get them a little sluggish, especially in the second half.”
Detillier credited his team for keeping its intensity even after falling behind, but said it has to do a better job in the days leading up to a game night.
“We played like we’ve practiced,” said Detillier. “The effort was there and we never quit. I’m proud of them for that. But we were a bit sloppy and that’s been the case in practice. We need to change that. It’s extremely important that we do.”
Robicheaux had little to pick on, however.
“This is a good team that works extremely hard. I’m so proud of them. They deserve this,” said Robicheaux.