GAMEDAY: Shaw, Vandebilt set for classic Friday night

Friday night, district supremacy is up for grabs. No. 2 Shaw (7-0, 2-0) comes to town. The Eagles haven’t lost a regular season game since 2004.

It’s a matchup of dreams, pitting one of the area’s best offenses against arguably the area’s best defense.

“I always like going into a game feeling like our defense can do the job in the game and hold the opponent's points down. So far, they've done it,” Shaw head coach Scott Bairnsfather said.

“This is going to be their biggest challenge, particular with that unit, because of the ability for Vandebilt to rush the football. Our defense is going to have to step up to the plate and play better than they have been.”

Vandebilt hasn’t scored fewer than 42 points in more than a month. The last time the Terriers were held in check was Sept. 14 against Central Lafourche in a 13-7 home win. Since then, Vandebilt has scored a 42-14 win over Holy Cross, a 65-28 victory over Terrebonne, a 42-12 triumph over Belle Chasse and a 45-42 nail-biter against Helen Cox.

You can attribute a lot of that to the three aforementioned Terriers. Mistich, the quarterback, doesn’t throw much. When he does, he has been successful. But Vandebilt head coach Mark King doesn’t hide what he likes to do. Run, run and run some more.

“Some of the strengths of our offense is the fact offensive line is I playing well,” King said. “And all three (Welch, Smith and Mistich) are threats in the backfield that can all make things happen. All can hurt defenses at any time.”

Bairnsfather knows this.

“We're going to have to whip them,” Bairnsfather said. “Be in the right spots. And tackle. That's a big chore. You've got to beat blocks, be in the right place and you've got to tackle two good running backs, one being very big. The biggest back we've seen.”

It’s not like Bairnsfather’s defense is anything to dismiss. Indeed, the Eagles have allowed 30 points this year. Not all have come on the first-team defense.

“The first and foremost thing that stands out is they are very fundamentally sound in all phases,” King said. “You can tell they’re coached extremely well. The kids play extremely hard. There’s a lot of talent on a team with a lot of guys back from the state runner-up (team) last year. They’re lights out on defense.”

The trouble for Shaw won’t come from its defense, at least not personnel-wise. The Eagles are missing starting quarterback Ramaad Robinson, who is out for the rest of the season with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament.

“It doesn’t change our gameplan,” King said. “What it does is it gives us the opportunity to hopefully maybe rattle a younger, inexperienced guy. We’re going to have to stop their run and make them throw the football”

Jesuit vs. Brother Martin, Gormley Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
Wayde Keiser’s team broke out of a midseason slump in an emphatic way. His Blue Jays dismantled District 10-5A opponent Chalmette 49-0. For Keiser, the timing couldn’t be any better for Jesuit (4-3, 1-1).

Jesuit’s next opponent is a big one, cross-town rival Brother Martin (5-2, 1-0), a team that has rattled off four straight wins since a 27-0 loss to Shaw on Sept. 15. The Blue Jays put up 356 yards on Chalmette.

“We’re going to have to be able to stop a good running game,” Keiser said. “They’ve got three really good running backs running well right now.”

Brother Martin head coach Jay Pittman could say the same about Jesuit. The Blue Jays are relying on running back Payton Jason thus far into the season. A week ago, Troy Matthews added himself as another player to stop.

“Last week, both of those guys had over 100 yards,” Pittman said. “We need to control them and make them as one dimensional as possible. Their best players are Matthew and Payton Jason and we need to limit their success early and make them reach into their bag of tricks.”

That might mean that Brother Martin’s offense will be required to stay on the field, to control the clock. Pittman said his offense will rely on Dalton Hilliard to get the job done.

But at least Brother Martin has a four-game winning streak to fall back on. It has confidence going for it these days.

“We’re trying to peak at this time of the year,” Pittman said. “We have met every goal that I’ve laid out. Got to have a winning October.”

Brother Martin has one more advantage right now. Jesuit has been in exams all week. The players haven’t necessarily been as focused on football as they might have been a week earlier or a week later.

“We’ve been in exams this week, so it’s been real tough on us to keep the focus because the kids have had to prepare a lot for their exams,” Keiser said.

East St. John at Destrehan, 7 p.m.
For the past two years, Destrehan has come into the East St. John game undefeated. For the past two years, Destrehan has left the game undefeated no more.

Tonight, Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux hopes that formula will change. Destrehan again enters undefeated, 7-0 and 2-0 in District 6-5A. East St. John comes in at 4-3 and 2-0.

But this time, Destrehan isn’t coming off an emotional win against Hahnville like it has the past two years. This time, Destrehan has already had its letdown game, a closer-than-expected 21-19 win over St. Amant.

ESJ head coach Larry Dauterive knows this.

“They had their emotional let down last week,” he said. “They’ll be focused this week.”

Another change – ESJ isn’t loaded with explosive athletes on the outside, instead using a bruising rushing attack to beat its past three opponents. And that’s exactly how Dauterive plans on containing a Destrehan offense with four legitimate Football Bowl Subdivision recruits.

“You keep their offense on the sideline,” Dauterive said. “Ball control. That’s something I’ve never had to do. We don’t have that arsenal. We’re going to give the ball to (Alex) Singleton.”

It’s Singleton, who has gained more than 1,100 yards this season, whom Robicheaux is most worried about.

“They’re doing a great job of getting him the football in a lot of different formations, a lot of different plays,” Robicheaux said. “We’re telling our kids to play good technique and gang tackle. He can hurt you. We need to gang tackle and get to the ball and let him know people will be around him all night.”

But something Destrehan has this year that it hasn’t had in the past is confidence, faith that it can come back from behind. The Wildcats did it against Hahnville two weeks ago to win in overtime. If required, they can do it again, Robicheaux said.

“One thing we learned this year is that we can come from behind,” Robicheaux said. “Our kids have the mentality that if we just keep playing, sooner or later we’re just going to make a play to get it done.”