Bayou region teams have collectively taken a step forward through the first half of this season and Central Lafourche is no exception as the Trojans prepare to visit Hahnville this Friday night.
CLHS is coming off of a win in a defensive slugfest last week, 7-6 over East St. John. The Trojans also have wins over South Lafourche and Thibodaux this season, with losses coming against Vandebilt Catholic and Central Catholic.
Much like H.L. Bourgeois, Central Lafourche has already won more games this season than last – the Trojans won a single game in 2023. The 2024-win total equals the program’s combined 3-wins over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. And this is a program that lost 19 games in a row before snapping that streak in 2022 – head coach Shelly Vedros, who was named the interim coach that season before being hired to the position permanently, has the program with some footing. Vedros was the team’s longtime defensive coordinator and served as an assistant coach with the team for 26 years prior to his ascension to the top job.
“Coach Vedros has them playing at a much higher level than they have been the past few years, and they’re playing a bunch of seniors,” said Hahnville head coach Greg Boyne. “They’re a well-coached team that doesn’t make many mistakes and they don’t turn the ball over alot. They mirror us on offense – they want to run the ball. And, obviously, the roster is much bigger than it’s been the past few years. They’re getting kids out there and keeping them out there.”
Central Lafourche almost doubled the number of players from last year’s team, with approximately 100 on the roster in 2024.
Jeremy Cleveland is the team’s starting quarterback, and he’s experienced. The team has a deep group of running backs and the offensive line has good size – HHS head coach Greg Boyne said this offensive line is the biggest the team has seen thus far besides Terrebonne.
“There’s quite a few seniors (on the offensive line) – three of them over 300 pounds, and to have three that big, even in today’s age, that’s a rarity,” Boyne said.
There’s a powerful runner behind that line, too. Zacchaeus McNabb is 6’0, 240 lbs., and plays both offense and defense. He doubles as the team’s middle linebacker.
“He’ll play as both a running back and a fullback. Anytime you have a kid that big and athletic, he’s hard to bring down,” Boyne said. “And as the middle linebacker, he’s very active.”
The Central Lafourche defense has been much stingier this season as well, with just one opponent crossing the 30-point barrier. That compares quite favorably to last season, when the Trojans allowed 30 or more in eight of their 10 games.
“There’s a couple of games where they’ve given up some points but for the most part, they’ve been very solid all year defensively,” said Boyne. “They just don’t have many missed assignments. They don’t make mistakes, so you have to do what you do well, execute and protect the football for you to score points.”
Nose guard Damoz Price is tough to move on the inside of the line, and defensive ends Victor Ellison and Johntras Payne are disruptive as well.
“Their linebackers are active and I like their secondary,” Boyne said. “They’ve got some taller, longer kids back there, at 6’1 and 6’2.”
Hahnville quarterback Landen Teague has a touchdown to interception ratio of 8-0 thus far through his first five starts, to go with 46 completions in 71 attempts and 625 yards. Teague just had just best game of the season at Thibodaux, with 139 yards and three touchdown passes, each score to a different receiver.
“It’s funny, because he actually threw (an interception) today in 7-on-7s, and it’s rare enough to where after practice, when I was talking to the quarterback group, he said ‘I’m sorry Coach, I threw an interception.’ I told him I’m waiting for him to throw one in a game, so we can get it out the way. He said no, no, he’s not looking to let that happen.
“I honestly don’t want him to think about it, though. I want him to throw the ball. He hasn’t been over cautious, he’s making some tight
window throws. He’s handling himself extremely well. I thought (last Friday) was his best game. That’s a very active defense that blitzes a lot. He stood in there and took whatever they gave.”’
Kobe Louis remains the top target for Teague, with 12 receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Landyn Dufrene and Lance Marshall are among the team’s leading receivers behind him this season.
But beyond the numbers, Marshall and Dufrene, along with their fellow slot receivers in the Tiger offense, know that the catches and yards are just part of a larger equation – the guys who block best will play most.
“Our slot receiver position has four guys that compete – Landyn Dufrene, Lance Marshall, Kaiden Bran and Aaron Williams – on any given day, we tell them whoever’s blocking the best is going to play this week,” Boyne said.
The Tiger wide receivers, beyond Louis and Dufrene, are largely all playing for the first time this season.
“This is the first experience in varsity football for most of these kids. It’s been fun watching them develop,” Boyne said. “They work hard in practice. They still have some things they need to work on – it’s a good group.”
