A power outage left players, coaches and fans alike in the dark at Tiger Stadium, but the Hahnville Tigers lit up the scoreboard following a delay Friday night.
Hahnville surged to its fourth consecutive victory, defeating visiting Central Lafourche 49-7 after what was an approximately 40-minute delay due to a widespread power outage that left approximately 2,500 St. Charles Parish Entergy customers without power.
Once the Tigers warmed up and hit the field, however, defensive back Ryan Simmons was the star of the show. Simmons scored two defensive touchdowns, one on an interception return, one on a fumble return.
Calvin Smith scored two touchdowns as well for Hahnville. Kobe Louis, Patrick Jackson and Jha’man Preston each scored touchdowns for the Tigers (5-1, 4-0), who remain alone in first place in District 8-5A after four straight decisive wins over district opponents.
Central Lafourche dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in district play.
Hahnville head coach Greg Boyne said initially it was thought the delay could be significantly longer, but said the Tigers were fortunate to be able to get rolling at close to 7:40 p.m.
“We knew we didn’t want to come back inside, because there was no air conditioning and no lights … the fire department did a great job, the police department did a great job … everyone stayed calm, the bands played a little bit. The toughest part was not knowing … both teams wanted to get it played tonight,” Boyne said.
He said this wasn’t his team’s best work offensively, but that the Tigers defense more than made up for it.
“I have high expectations every time we take the field … I didn’t think we played up to our capability offensively. Defensively – we played lights out,” said Boyne. “Until the last drive, with our JV in, I don’t think we allowed positive yards.”
A big part of that defense was Simmons, who had an explosive night.
“You know, he was one of our 100 percent attendance guys. He’s been here every day and done everything we’ve asked him to do. Coach (Malter) Scobel and I kind of told him if you follow the plan, you can be a leader on this team. He’s willing. He’s vocal and he plays with an edge to him. We challenged him before the season and he’s taken it on,” Boyne said.
“Play after play after play, every week – it’s been awesome to watch his growth as a leader and a player. And I don’t think it’s peaked tonight, because he has a lot more ahead of him this year, but he played a heck of a game.”
