Championship Thoughts: 5A Destrehan meets destiny

MVP
Damaris Johnson had one of "those" games, the kind that stands out over the years to those who witnessed the game in person. He tallied 94 yards rushing on five carries and never got tackle behind the line of scrimmage. He averaged 18.8 yards per carry.

He caught four passes for 44 yards. He returned a punt 19 yards and a kickoff 19 yards. He tallied 176 all-purpose yards.

But he wasn't alone, and we in the media certainly could have awarded several players the MVP.

Quarterback Jordan Jefferson comes to mind. He finished 10 of 13 passing, a 5A state championshp game record for completion percentage. His 76.9 percent rate is better than Hahnville's Clifton White, whose 75 percent rate was the previous high. White, though, was only 3 of 4.

Jefferson also tied a record with his 80-yard touchdown pass to Tim Molton. The previous record-holder is John David Booty, who had an 80-yard completion to Tristen Ross in 2002.

Game Thoughts
I wasn't sure exactly what Acadiana was going to bring to this game. The Rams were back on track after losing three in a row to end the regular season, and were in their third championship game in a row.

And when Acadiana answered Destrehan's game-opening scoring drive with a nine-plus minute scoring drive, I figured we were in for a good game.

But the key stat of the game was that Acadiana stopped Destrehan only once, and on that punt, the Wildcats got the ball back when it bounced off an Acadiana player downfield.

The Wildcats scored on 6-of-8 possessions, and the eighth possession was the end of the game when they kneeled down instead of going for more points.

The only drive Destrehan had that was more took more than 3:15 off the clock was the final possession, when it held it for 5:32 and milked the clock.

What I thought was the key moment of the game, or key series, was after Acadiana cut Destrehan's lead to 28-21 with its opening drive of the second half, the Wildcats responded. That's also the possession where the game's lone turnover occurred on the punt.

By then, there weren't enough possessions left in the game for Acadiana to come back with it's slow, methodical offense.

Perspective
I don't know enough about Louisiana high school football history. But what I'll say is this: I've seen high school football in three states (La., Ala., Ga.) and this Destrehan team is one of the best I've seen. The talent came together for that one magical year.

Coach Stephen Robicheaux deserves as much credit as anyone, and so does his staff. It's not easy to take all this talent and get it to play together. The play-calling was superb in the championship game, and it was throughout the season.

It's not easy to have the talent and the athleticism and get it to play through to a state championship. Look professionally at the Yankees. How much talent does New York always accrue? And when's the last time they won a World Series? Exactly.

The Wildcats district and schedule certainly helped them once they hit the playoffs. There might not have been a tougher district in the state. Close games against Hahnville and Dutchtown helped Destrehan realize it could win close games. And winning against East St. John. Playing 2A finalist St. James and 5A semifinalist Ehret during the regular season just toughened this team up, as well.

Will Destrehan repeat next year? It's too soon to say. But there's a plethora of talent coming back on defense. The offense loses a lot, something tells me it might be OK.

Your thoughts
OK, I've given my thoughts on Destrehan's championship win and season. What do you think? Is this the most talented team you've seen? Does it have a chance to repeat next year? How good was Damaris' performance?

Leave a comment below, or email me at bhandwerger@wwltv.com .