Without quarterback Ryan Gregson available for Hahnville in its home District 7-5A matchup with Thibodaux, the Tigers needed to get a bit creative on offense.
Hahnville fully unleashed The Beast.
HHS expanded use of its tight, blocking heavy formation with wide receiver Titus White, running back Calvin Joseph and defensive end Cincere Simmons each operating at quarterback throughout the night – and it worked like a charm. The Tigers bested Thibodaux 49-20 to even its record at 3-3 (1-2 in District 7-5A).
“We were trying to shake back from adversity. We had a long three weeks, but we’re Hahnville. We’re gotta do what Hahnville do,” said Dakota Williams, who’s first quarter kickoff return for a touchdown gave Hahnville an early lead. “We rely a lot on our running backs. We know what they can do, what the receivers can do. We wanted to make the quarterback feel comfortable … it was all game-planned throughout the week, practice and execution is what it came down to.”
Alavan Sam intercepted two passes on defense, while White passed for a score and ran for another. Smith scored two touchdowns while Simmons, Dakota Williams and Joshua Joseph added scores of their own.
Gregson was held out of the game due to a concussion, which left Hahnville without its first two quarterbacks after losing starter Donovan Friloux to a knee injury in the preseason.
“It was a three-man show (at quarterback). Cincere Simmons, Titus White and CJ (Calvin Smith).” said Hahnville head coach Daniel Luquet. “In the first half, we were running our beast package … we told our offensive line, it’s on you this week. We’re gonna run it 60 times. I thought we did a good job on special teams, returned a kick, Dakota hit that thing. At this point in the season, as many things as far as injuries that we’ve got, we’re just trying to win football games any way we can.”
Hahnville started flexing its muscle from its most powerful look – with the 6’3, 240-pound Division I prospect lined up at quarterback with a bevy of lead blockers surrounding him. He punched in the night’s first touchdown from the 2-yard line to give Hahnville a 7-0 lead.
Thibodaux (1-5, 0-2) responded on the legs of Demarcus Singleton, who capped THS’ ensuing drive with a 1-yard plunge for a score to tie the game up.
It wasn’t tied for long, though. The kickoff saw Williams find a crease to get through and past the coverage team for a return score that put Hahnville back ahead by a touchdown, 14-7.
“It felt good, I’m not gonna lie. That was my first kick return (for a touchdown) since I’ve been here. I’m looking forward to more,” Williams said.
After the Hahnville defense stopped Thibodaux, Hahnville drove down into the THS redzone again. This time, White floated a ball to Joseph on a screen that saw the latter score from 10 yards out, making it a 21-7 game.
Thibodaux quarterback Ean Rodrigue rolled to his right in an attempt to make something happen, but his pass down the sideline was picked by Sam, who closed in rapidly on the wideout to snatch a possession away for his team. Hahnville made it count when Calvin Smith scored a two-yard touchdown to make it 28-7 just before halftime.
White added a pair of rushing scores in the second half, while Smith scored his second touchdown of the night to round out the Hahnville scoring. Singleton scored two times in the second half – once on a pass from Rodrigue, one on a run – to net him three touchdowns on the night.
Luquet said this one came down to one focus: physicality.
“We had Dakota singled up a couple times. We took some shots and made some plays,” said Luquet. “We’re gonna have to be able to throw it a little more when teams load the box like that, because five (Williams) is special. All three of those guys can throw it. We threw a little more out of the beast this week, to show that we can. But man, I thought our offensive line blocked well. We ran physical. The motto this week was just to be more physical than them. Be a physical football team.”
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