MONDAY REWIND: What does a district championship really mean? Not much, in the grand scheme of things.

“They talk about district, but the bottom line is, win out and stay No. 1 in power ratings,” Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

When Newman jumped out to a 21-0 lead on Riverside, it would have been easy for the casual fan to go ahead and give the Greenies the win. But with power points on the line, Riverside didn’t give up, taking a late-game lead.

But Newman fought back, eventually winning 48-42 in overtime.

“If you want to stay in the top 10 in power points and go in with not just momentum, but a solid seed, you just can’t tell what a loss can do to you in power ratings,” Newman head coach Nelson Stewart said. “With (district leader) St. James, they still play Curtis. It’s do or die. We knew. Riverside knew it. I think that’s why you saw two teams battle tooth and nail for four quarters.”

Still, there is some significance in winning the district. Pride, for one, stands out.

“In the back of our mind, we’re in a five-team district,” said Jesuit head coach Wayde Keiser, whose Blue Jays came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Brother Martin 25-17.. “One loss puts you behind the eight ball, two takes you out. Talking to our kids, we talk to them about the significance of every game, another shot to secure ourselves an opportunity to play in the 11th week.

“We all know a second loss and you can’t share a part or have a chance (at the district championship).”

Keiser, for what it's worth, said power points are just as important as the district, not giving one more significance than the other.

Blue Jays show heart
On Oct. 6, Jesuit lost to Rummel 17-7. Friday night, the Blue Jays knew a loss to Brother Martin would end their hopes of at least tying for the District 9-5A title. It also would be disastrous for postseason seeding.

It appeared the worst fears of Blue Jays fans everywhere would come to fruition as the fourth quarter began. But with the start of the fourth quarter, Jesuit awoke from a deep sleep, scoring 19 points in the final quarter to come away with an 8-point victory.

“We have a lot of heart,” Keiser said. “We played with a lot of heart. Some breaks happened. We capitalized. We could easily have quit and stopped playing and we didn’t. It took a lot of heart and I’m extremely proud of the heart they showed.”

So, how did it happen?

“Field position helped,” Keiser said. “We connected on a couple of passes. Things there were part of the gameplan in the beginning fell into place at the right time.”

Cat scratch fever
The way Destrehan has played the past three weeks, one has to wonder if head coach Stephen Robicheaux has taken enough Zantac to cure the heartburn the Wildcats’ wins have probably caused.

Three weeks ago, it took double overtime and a comeback for Destrehan to beat Hahnville 31-24. Two weeks ago it was a 21-19 closer-than-should-have-been win over St. Amant. Then this past week, Destrehan beat East St. John 31-28 when Wildcats’ defensive back Antonio Parker intercepted a potential game-winning pass in the end zone with about a minute to play.

“It’s better than the alternative,” Robicheaux said, the alternative being three losses on the Wildcats record. Instead, Destrehan is 8-0, nixed the ESJ jinx (Destrehan had lost the two prior seasons after entering this game undefeated) and remains No. 1 in the power ratings.

The close wins can only help come playoff time, the theory goes. Count Robicheaux as one who subscribes to that thought.

“There’s a lot to say about experience,” he said. “We’ve experienced a lot of big, close games. Hahnville and East St. John are supposed to be close. You just got to be ready to play, and I think close games are going to help us in the long run. No matter what happens, we’re going to fight until the end.”

Newman seniors will Greenies to win
Nelson Stewart knew that even with a 21-0 lead over Riverside Friday night, his Newman team wasn’t in the clear. The Rebels proved him right, storming back to take a 42-28 fourth-quarter lead.

Newman didn’t give in, and Stewart said the team’s seniors are to thank. The Greenies came right back, gaining momentum and points until the game was tied 42-42 heading into overtime.

“To be down in the fourth quarter 28-42, a lot of times, kids are going to pack it in,” Stewart said.

He added, “I told kids, more than any X’s and O’s, anything else, it showed more than anything the heart. There are not a lot of teams I’ve been around that could do that. They knew how important the game was and they just kept fighting.”

The game-tying drive came late in the fourth quarter, and the key play came on fourth-and-10. Quarterback Wes Luquette had time to throw and found Ronnie Vincent open. The play propelled Newman in the end.

“The kids just maintained poise,” Stewart said. “Not a lot of panic. The quarterback stayed in the pocket and didn’t make any crazy throws. You couldn’t have scripted it any better.”