Hahnville’s football season ended last Friday with a 24-12 loss to Destrehan in the Class 5A quarterfinals, but preparation for next year began the following Monday, according to Tiger head coach Nick Saltaformaggio.
Saltaformaggio said last week’s loss mirrored the team’s other four defeats during the season, which included an inability to run the football, a breakdown in the kicking game and turnovers that gave the Wildcats’ high-speed offense ample opportunities in good field position.
“Our offense was completely non-existent,” Saltaformaggio said.
In last week’s game, Hahnville defensive back Drew Favre intercepted a pass at the Tigers’ 36-yard line, but the offense failed to capitalize. The subsequent punt was returned 73 yards by Destrehan for a lead that the Wildcats would not relinquish.
Echoing the sentiment throughout the season, Saltaformaggio continued to be pleased with the performance of his defense. He went on to praise junior Peyton Robert, noting the linebacker is primed to be a playmaker next season.
“Peyton Robert will be one of the best five or six players in the metropolitan area,” Saltaformaggio said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Much of Hahnville’s roster is comprised of students who will be returning next year, most notably at the quarterback position. Saltaformaggio said he wants to avoid the split reps the Tigers turned to late in the season after junior Mike Neal, who missed seven games due to injury, returned to an offense that had been helmed by sophomore Austin Perrin in his absence.
“We’re gonna open the job up and the best guy wins it,” Saltaformaggio said. “Hopefully whoever wins it stays healthy and he can keep it.”
Two of Hahnville’s seniors, however, are Rickey Preston and Brandon Singleton, the team’s reliable and high-performing wideouts. Saltaformaggio expressed no worries losing these players, assuring that there were plenty of young receivers ready to fill the role.
“Everyone has graduating seniors,” Saltaformaggio said.In spite of his criticism of the offense, Saltaformaggio said everything can be fixed with some small adjustments. He added that it was his job to figure out what went wrong that led to his team’s four losses.
“If we can correct that behavior, we’re gonna be really, really good next year,” he said. “We’re obviously still going to be a work in progress.”
Looking back on the season, Saltaformaggio said he would give his squad a “B plus or A minus” for how they performed this year. However, he said he’s working to get his players more “physical” in the weight room as they train for the 2015 season.
But most important to Saltaformaggio in the offseason is classroom accountability.
“Our No. 1 priority is that we have to be accountable to our grades and our teachers,” he said.
Hahnville’s coach said he is disappointed to not be making a run at the state championship, but he’s hopeful the Tigers can reach that point next year.
“There were 32 teams entering this bracket and every one of them is gonna cry, but only one of them is gonna cry tears of joy,” Saltaformaggio said. “We didn’t cry tears of joy, but I think our future is very bright…we’ll be fine.”
Be the first to comment