Hahnville Defensive Player of the Year: Lyncoy Reynaud, senior defensive end. Reynaud plays with a great deal of fire and emotion, his desire to help propel Hahnville back to championship competition evident in his play all season.
It was also evident in his numbers, as he terrorized opposing offenses all year long. Reynaud spent considerable time in the opponent’s backfield as he sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times this season, made 18 tackles for loss and had 22 quarterback hurries. He recorded 63 solo tackles this season with 53 assists, forced a fumble and recovered another and blocked a kick.
“He’s probably, pound for pound, our strongest kid,” Hahnville coach Nick Saltaformaggio said. “You’re talking about a 230 pound defensive end, so not a guy with tremendous size … but he’s a physically strong, mean, tough kid.
“He creates problems on and then behind the line of scrimmage. He has a very tenacious attitude about him … and he has tremendous pop. His first punch knocks you back and very rarely does he get punched back off the snap. His motor runs very fast, so even on downs he may be a little outside, he’s never outmanned. He’s constantly running at 100 miles per hour.”
Reynaud’s mental toughness sets him apart.
“He brought a tremendous amount of maturity and toughness. You can be a big, strong, fast guy, but if you’re not tough or you don’t have that maturity to know ‘I have to play hurt, I have to play bruised or sick,’ you won’t be a great player. He was just tough, tough, tough.”
He also had a knack for making key plays when the Tigers were in their biggest games. In the state championship game, for example, his fumble recovery set up Hahnville’s first touchdown of the night.
“He gave us that defensive playmaker we’ve needed,” Saltaformaggio said. “You knew if you needed a sack, a turnover, he’d be there to get you one.”
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