The Hahnville Tigers cruised to another big win last weekend, using a balanced offensive attack and five takeaways by their defense to run away with a 42-7 victory over Vanderbilt Catholic.
Tiger running back Alfred Blue rushed for three touchdowns and quarterback Brian Ensminger tossed two more to lead the offensive attack. On defense, lineman Shea Majoria scooped up three fumbles while linebacker Ben Taylor and cornerback Jake Noel both had interceptions.
“I thought we played well in the first half, and in the second half we played a lot of backups and they looked good too,” Hahnville head coach Lou Valdin said. “Vanderbilt Catholic did come out with something new on offense, and managed to pick up some yards on us, but the defense came up with some turnovers.
“It was a good game to go into district on because we played better than we did against O.P. Walker the previous week and hopefully we will make more improvement against East Ascension.”
East Ascension, the Tigers first district opponent, started out the season with a 35-0 win against Reed, but then dropped their next two contests to Denham Springs and LaGrange. However, Valdin said that East Ascension has been impressive in their last two games, both victories against Ellender and Bonnabel.
“They have four really good running backs and they all play, which means they have fresh legs all game,” Valdin said. “One of them, Avery Williams, runs really hard, and another, Jamarkus Jarvis, is lightning fast and burns people on the outside. He’s so fast that he is a lot like Lutcher quarterback Gavin Webster.”
On defense, Valdin said that East Ascension has a stout front seven, but if they have a weakness, it would be their secondary.
“Turnovers and field position are going to be big,” he said. “We want to force them to drive the length of the field on us, and to do that, we can’t have any turnovers.”
Though district play has lost some importance due to the decision to use power rankings to determine playoff teams, Valdin said that it’s still a big deal because a district championship is on the line.
“We still approach everything the same once we enter district since the power rankings are used now, but a district championship is still on the line,” he said. “We haven’t won one since 2004.”
And a win in the first district game is important if that championship is to be achieved.
“Half the teams will lose and they still have to play us,” Valdin added.
This year, the Tigers will have to win their first district game with the potential distractions of homecoming hanging over their heads.
“Hopefully, homecoming will have a positive impact because the players will want to win the game and not get distracted by all the festivities that surround it,” Valdin said.
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