Destrehan Football, 2022 Smooth Team of the Year
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In December of last year, the Destrehan High School Wildcats won its first football state title since 2008. The 17-10 nailbiter victory over Ruston not only gave the Wildcats their fifth championship in program history, it also capped off a perfect 14-0 season.
It is a Smoothie King, Friday Night Football, and WGNO tradition for the last 15 seasons to honor the “Smooth Team of the Year.” So on Thursday, members of each group visited 1 Wildcat Lane to recognize the team’s rare accomplishment.
The Wildcats’ 17-10 victory went down to the wire, as quarterback Jai Eugene, Jr., scored a 29-yard, go-ahead touchdown run with 3:22 left in the game.
Head coach Marcus Scott reflected on the honor for his club, saying the following:
“We’re very honored to be the Smoothie King team of the year. This is an outstanding honor. And the kids deserve it. They’ve been through some ups and downs and they deserve to be honored this way.”
In the summer Coach Scott did not know his squad was “undefeatable.” WGNO sports director Ed Daniels asked when the realization happened.
“Probably in the summer when we saw a lot of the voluntary workouts,” Scott said. “The amount of attendance that we would get and how they would hold each other accountable. And so I thought that was two early signs that we could have a chance to be decent.”
The Wildcats were more than decent.
In fact, they were perfect.
Stay updated with the latest news, weather, and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play store and subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.