Hat trick leads Tigers to 3-0 district mark

Hahnville junior Craig Ford scored three goals to lead the Tigers to a 4-1 win.

Hahnville junior Craig Ford scored three goals to lead the Tigers to a 4-1 win over John Ehret.

With the victory, Hahnville improved to 3-0 in district play.

From the start of the game, both teams were playing very physical soccer. With the Tigers putting an emphasis on possession, they were able to put together combination passes working the ball into the Patriots side of the field.

The Tigers got on the board first when B.J. Hartman split defenders with a pass to Ford. Ford turned and sent the ball to the back of the net to give Hahnville an early lead.

John Ehret answered right back after a long pass got past the Hahnville defenders, but the Tigers struck again to retake the lead.

Junior Brennen Samaha got the scoring drive started after he stole the ball at midfield then passed it to fellow junior Chase Ledet. Ledet worked the ball up the field and made a beautiful pass to Ford, who put Hahnville up 2-1.

The Tigers did not stop there, as they continued to put pressure on the Patriots. Senior Julius Medina and sophomore Coby Orgeron kept the ball on John Ehret’s side of the field, which helped produce a handball.

Ford got the call and smashed the ball into the net to give Hahnville a 3-1 lead at the break.

It was Ford’s first career hat trick.

"I wanted to play extra hard for my brother, Aaron, who was in from the Marines for the holiday," Ford said. "He doesn’t get to see a lot of my games."

Senior goalie Mason Boyer made three saves in the first half. Boyer, along with senior defender Adrienne Edwards, worked together with the rest of the Tiger defenders to hold off the Patriots for the remainder of the game.

Hahnville’s final score came after Ford sent another shot to the goal, which was deflected. Hahnville junior Dakota Evans put the shot in for the goal.

The Tigers return to district play on Jan. 4 when they take on Destrehan at Destrehan.

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.