HHS Spring Football Report

Valdin impressed with upcoming sophomore class

After 10 days of spring practice, Hahnville head coach Lou Valdin came away impressed with his upcoming sophomores.

The group, which mostly watched from the sideline last season as freshmen, should provide a lot of depth for a Hahnville squad that returns several starters this year.

"I’m excited about our upcoming 10th grade group because we have a lot of kids in that group that we think are going to be good players for us," Valdin said. "They are filling in everywhere. We have a lot more guys coming back this year than we did last year, so we know who our starters are going to be, but this 10th grade group is going to provide a lot of depth."

Having the sophomores shine did a lot to alleviate some of the anxiety that came from not having starting quarterback Easton Melancon at spring practice for the first four days. Melancon also plays on the baseball team, which advanced to the state tournament.

However, Valdin said that Melancon showed no rust when he finally got to take part in spring drills.

"He looked good," Valdin said. "Normally there is a period of adjustment from throwing a baseball to throwing a football, but Easton came in and was very accurate."

While the Tigers return experience at quarterback, receiver and offensive line, one question mark heading into practice was the running game. Hahnville lost all of their starting running backs from last season, including Mike Ford, Travis Faucheux and Ernest Thompson.

But Valdin isn’t worried.

"We moved Cody Morales (from tight end) to fullback and he had a great spring," Valdin said. "At running back we have two older guys and three younger guys who will contribute so we feel like we will be good there."

On defense, Valdin said he will count on his linebackers to anchor the unit. Sergio Medina, Gabe Taylor and Anthony Mott all return from last year to make the linebackers the most experienced group on the team.

"Sergio is a big time player and we are counting on him and the linebacking unit to come through for us," Valdin said. "With Mott, Taylor and Medina returning, they have the most experience."

Valdin was also excited about the upcoming freshmen, who came out for a day to go through spring drills.

"We had kids from R.K. Smith one day and J.B. Martin on another day and there is a lot of interest in football," Valdin said. "We had 70 kids show up."