Hahnville’s 24-20 victory over Thibodaux last week was a major one for the team in terms of playoff positioning.
The win over THS, currently ranked ninth in power points in Class 5A non-select, moved Hahnville up to 10. A win over Central Lafourche in Boutte this Friday night would secure at least one playoff home game for Hahnville, and potentially could guarantee two if a win would spur Hahnville (6-3, 4-1) into the Top 8.
“I think some of the projections have us up at 7 or 8 if we win,” said Hahnville head football coach Greg Boyne. “Obviously, it’s huge to get a home game. We’re treating this like it would be a district championship or playoff game. Winning would set us up in a good spot going forward in the playoffs.”
Central is 4-5 this season under first year Trojans head coach Aaron Babin – after just three weeks, it matched its win total from a year ago and have now doubled it.
This is a high-scoring team under Babin. It earned a 37-14 win over West Jefferson in Week 1 and a 51-0 victory over Patterson in Week 2. A rivalry matchup against South Lafourche resulted in a 55-36 loss, but the offense continued to create explosive plays. There have been some down weeks as well, but only Thibodaux, Destrehan and East St. John have held the Trojans to less than 20 points.
“They’re much improved for sure,” Boyne said. “A lot more kids in the program, playing some younger guys. They play differently than they have in the past. They were a zone, soft-coverage team and now they play a lot of man. So, when we put the film on, it was a much different look than what we’re accustomed to.”
Central Lafourche is ranked 29th in Division I non-select. A total of 28 teams qualify for the postseason.
So, for the Trojans, the only way into the postseason is through Hahnville.
“We’ve told our kids, look, they’re on the outside looking in, so any trick play they have, any onside kick, you have to assume they’ll throw everything at you,” Boyne said. “We’ve spent the first two days this week working on different situations so we can be prepared for anything.”
Quarterback Brock Babin leads the offense. Among his top targets are Reese Verdin – the two connected for a 60-yard score last week against South Lafourche. The ground game is paced by running back Hunter Babin, Treyvenne Allen and Tamyren Crandle
Boyne said Central keys the offense off the run.
“They have a big back and they have a big offensive line, so that presents a challenge,” Boyne said. “They run multiple things. They’ll run the quarterback. They’ll run inside zone and outside zone. They rotate three guys at running back and work play-action to get the ball downfield. We have to be very sound with our keys, stay in our lanes and do our job defensively.”
As for the Central Lafourche defense, it’s aggressive man coverage for most of the game. Cornerbacks Parker Verret and Jason Domangue take on plenty of responsibility.
“They’re kind of in your face, blitzing and blitzing some more,” Boyne said. “You don’t see a lot of Cover 0 with no safety, but they’ll do it about 20 to 30 percent of the time. So, you’ve got to max protect and keep the quarterback protected.”
