By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

RESERVE — After two losses swung by critical East St. John turnovers, the Wildcats were determined to win the turnover battle this time around as Terrebonne came to town.

They did just that — and how.

East St. John forced six Terrebonne turnovers and committed none as the Wildcats captured a 48-21 District 7-5A victory in the team’s homecoming game, pushing ESJ over .500 headed into a Week 10 showdown with undefeated Destrehan.

“We played better defense,”  East St. John coach Phillip Banko said. “We made some improvement there. They scored early and put us behind the eight ball, but from there, our guys pulled together and we took control.”

Terrebonne (2-7, 0-6) took an early 7-0 lead on Joseph Alvis’ 2-yard touchdown run, but from there the Wildcats took control.

Xavier Lewis scored on a pair of short touchdown runs as ESJ (5-4, 4-2) took advantage of a Terrebonne fumbled punt and then an interception.

Nigel Anderson’s 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter made it 21-7. Then Antonio Parks blew the game open when he returned a punt for six, taking the kick back 68 yards to make it 28-7.

Ahmani Martin slammed the door on Terrebonne with a huge individual performance in the third quarter, first rushing for a 16-yard touchdown and then intercepting a pass and returning it for a 47-yard touchdown to make it 42-7. Martin intercepted two passes during the game. Jarrod Jackson added a late rushing score for ESJ.

Terrebonne quarterback Justin Theriot scored a pair of fourth quarter rushing touchdowns to cut into the ESJ lead, but the Wildcats suffocated him and the Tiger passing offense all night long. Theriot completed one of his seven pass attempts for two yards and four interceptions. ESJ intercepted five passes on the night. Theriot did find some room with his legs, rushing for 115 yards on 15 carries.

“Our biggest key was keeping him contained,” Banko said. “On two plays, we didn’t, and he made us pay. But overall, we did a good job. A lot of teams have struggled with keeping (Theriot) in check, but we were able to limit their offense.”

Banko credited his players with overcoming the distractions of homecoming to focus.

“There’s just a lot going on this week and it’s tough for them to focus, but you know what, they did it,” Banko said. “They played as a team tonight, and as a result, we’ve moved to 5-4.”