Tigers fall in defensive struggle

East St. John was 0-for-2 in extra points on Friday, so surely they couldn’t make a late-game, last-second field goal with the game on the line, right?

Wrong.

Terrebonne led East St. John 13-12 late in Friday’s crucial district game — a defensive struggle that went down to the final seconds.

East St. John got into Terrebonne territory late and turned to kicker Alexis Reyes, who was having a rough night.

But in one swoop of his right leg, Reyes changed that, banging home a last-second 28-yard field goal to secure a 15-13 Wildcats win.

That kick thwarted a furious fourth-quarter Terrebonne rally and improved the Wildcats to 7-2 on the season. Terrebonne fell to 4-5.

“Our kids just kept fighting,” East St. John coach Brandon Brown. “We trust our kicker in that spot. He’d missed a few, but we trust him. He made a big one and it capped what was an outstanding high school football game.”

That, it was.

Both Terrebonne and East St. John have terrific defenses and they both showed out on Friday.

The Wildcats led 6-0 at halftime after forcing a turnover and converting a short field into a touchdown.

That advantage doubled and ballooned to 12-0 in the second half on another score aided by turnover. The Wildcats picked off a pass and set up a short field. They converted just a few plays later when Sean Shelby hit Dontae Fleming for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

Then Terrebonne fought back.

The Tigers went on a furious second-half comeback to take the lead — thanks in large part because of a Herculean effort from Florida State commitment Ja’khi Douglas.

Douglas’ first score came to cap an 80-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. A missed extra point made the score 12-6.

That score held for a quarter and a half after both defenses dominated one another and forced countless possession changes.

Late in the game, Terrebonne broke through and thought they’d sealed then win when Douglas and the boys marched again on a long drive capped by a touchdown pass from Douglas to AJ Walter to go up 13-12 with just more than 3 minutes to play.

But East St. John had one final answer.

Down a point, the Wildcats drove down the field and got close — on a drive aided by two key pass interference penalties on Terrebonne’s defense.

Tigers coach Gary Hill said he didn’t agree with the fouls, but the Wildcats used them to push into range to set up Reyes’ kick, which was made as time expired.

The loss was big for Terrebonne, because now the Tigers head into Week 10 in must-win mode. Terrebonne is currently in the upper 20s in the power ratings and a loss against Central Lafourche in the final week of the season could possibly knock the Tigers out of the Top 32.

TIGERS REBOUND WITH WIN OVER BRAVES

Thibodaux played a poor first half on Friday against H.L. Bourgeois.

The heavily favored Tigers rolled to a fast start, but then struggled in the second quarter and only led 14-7 at halftime.

But in the third quarter, Thibodaux found its stride and got the win it was looking for.

The Tigers beat the Braves 49-14, thanks to a third-quarter onslaught that put the game on ice.

Thibodaux scored 35 points in the first 6 minutes of the third. Coach Chris Dugas said it was a strong second half after a slow start.

“We came out of the gates OK, but then we kind of fell asleep a little bit in the second quarter,” Dugas said. “We got into halftime and re-focused a little bit and I thought we did a much better job.”

Thibodaux got big days from quarterback Luke Alleman and receivers Kyren Lacy and Darwin Davis in the win.

With the win, Thibodaux is now 7-2 on the season. The Tigers are in position to earn a Top 8 seed in the Class 5A State Playoffs.

Dugas was complimentary to H.L. Bourgeois after the game, saying that he believes the Braves are headed in the right direction.

“They remind me of us last year with the young guys and some of the things they’re dealing with,” Dugas said. “You just can’t get away with that in Class 5A football. They’re going to get a lot of kids back and I think they’re headed in the right direction.”

CLASS 5A SCOREBOARD

Thibodaux 49, H.L. Bourgeois 14

Destrehan 38, Central Lafourche 15

East St. John 15, Terrebonne 13

Jesuit 24, Hahnville 14