By Lori Lyons
L’Observateur

DESTREHAN – Destrehan’s multi-talented offense scored six touchdowns on the way to a 47-7 rout of West Jefferson in the season-opener for both teams. The Wildcats also got a 23-yard  

field goal and six extra points by Randy Harvey, along with a safety on a Buccaneers penalty.

And in quite a turn from previous seasons, these Wildcats did it mostly with the running game.  Destrehan used nine different ball carriers to rush for 336 yards while the passing game finished with 58. Will Matthews led the onslaught with 160 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. First-year starting quarterback Marquise Darensbourg passed completed 6 of 11 passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one to John Williams for 17 yards and another to Kirk Merritt for 6 yards.

The rout even continued into the fourth quarter as the substitutes took over. Sophomore Kristian Mosley ran for a 22-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Kohen Granier led the final scoring drive and ran for 77 yards on four carries, including a 45-yard scamper.

The Wildcats also corrected many of the mistakes they made last week, finishing with only four penalties for 38 yards.

Except for one big play in the third quarter, West Jefferson could not muster much against the Destrehan defense. Running back Jamal Houston rushed for 115 yards on 10 carries. Backup quarterback Jason Thomas finished with 60 yards on five carries. Bruce Houston was the only other Buccaneer to finish with positive yardage. Starting quarterback Coley Ransaw completed 12 of 24 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown – an 81-yard strike to Bruce Houston with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter for West Jefferson’s only score.

Destrehan started quickly. Kirk Merritt returned the opening kickoff to the West Jefferson 49 yard-line and, from there, the Wildcats needed six plays to get to the Buccaneers 6. When the drive stalled., Harvey kicked a 23-yard field goal to get the scoring started.

West Jefferson put together a drive on its first possession, but stalled at the Wildcats 24 and a 41-yard field goal attempt failed.

Matthews then ran for the next three Destrehan touchdowns, scoring on runs of 20, 9 and 55 yards. The third came with 3:46 remaining in the first half to give the Wildcats a 24-0 halftime lead.

Destrehan added to its lead quickly in the third quarter following a West Jefferson fumble which was recovered by Peyton Steib at the Buccaneers 17-yard line. Three plays later, Darensbourg threw a 17-yard touchdown to John Williams less than 30 seconds into the half. Harvey’s PAT made it 31-0.

 Then West Jefferson caught the Wildcats napping. Backed up to his own 16-yard line, Ransaw threw a short route to Kevin Crayton for 3 yards, then he threw deep to Bruce Houston, who broke past the Destrehan secondary for an 81-yard touchdown.

 The Wildcats would get an extra 2 points when Ransaw was called for intentional grounding in the end zone and Destrehan was awarded a safety.