By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
DESTREHAN – Ending a back-and-forth game which neither team led by more than one score, Captain Shreve appeared to be right where it wanted with the ball inside the Destrehan 5-yard line and the clock running with under 20 seconds to go.
But sensational Shreve running back Jamarcea Plater was stopped short of the goal line, and the Gators couldn’t get off another play as Destrehan held on for a wild 46-42 win Friday night.
Destrehan (4-3) hadn’t stopped Plater much on a night when he rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries, but the Wildcats’ defense figured out a way to deny the state’s leading rusher (according to maxpreps.com) in the final seconds.
It’s a sequence that never would have happened had Captain Shreve quarterback Brodie Savage not stood in the face of a Destrehan fourth-down blitz to find Plater on a 26-yard connection.
Plater’s third and final touchdown run handed the Gators a 42-39 lead after a Chris Hill two-point conversion, but Destrehan had a trick up its sleeve to take the lead for good.
Receiver Jabari Mack topped 100 rushing yards out of the Wildcat, but Destrehan threw a pass out of the formation for a 55-yard touchdown to go up 46-42 with three minutes left.
“We played like we practiced all week – missed assignments and an overall lack of focus,” said Captain Shreve coach Jeremy Wilburn. “We have to learn how to travel with an elite level of focus before the playoffs or we will find ourselves on the losing end once again if/when that day comes.
“We’ll fix our preparation during the upcoming week. We have a lot of things to clean up, and we get the opportunity to start that on Monday.”
Destrehan started the game with fireworks on a first-snap 80-yard Malachi Dabney breakaway. Dabney finished with 234 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
That kicked off a string of 11 lead changes with Destrehan’s 20-14 halftime advantage being the largest of the night.
Savage erased that lead with a touchdown pass to Car’darrian Devers for a 21-20 edge, continuing the craziness of momentum swings.
Savage counterbalanced the rushing attack with 213 passing yards on 22-of-35 passing with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Gators (4-3) hop back into District 1-5A play this coming week against Parkway in their final home game of the regular season.
Contact Matt at sports@journalservicesllc.com