As Hahnville head coach Greg Boyne prepares for his first playoff game as head coach of his alma mater Tigers, he’s set for a unique experience – if also a familiar one.
The No. 8 Tigers will host No. 25 H.L. Bourgeois at Tiger Stadium this Friday night, a rematch of District 8-5A competitors.
The two teams met in Week 5 of the regular season, with Hahnville (7-2) winning handily over the visiting Braves (5-5), 42-0.
Boyne said an opening round rematch against a district rival hasn’t been all that common over his coaching career, but he experienced several later round rematches during his time as a Destrehan assistant – including one potential cautionary tale – a Destrehan/East St. John rematch in 2022 that took place less than a month after DHS went into Reserve and handily defeated ESJ during the regular season, a game that was all but over before halftime.
The quarterfinal rematch in Reserve resulted in unbeaten Destrehan’s biggest scare of the season, DHS needing a late stop on a 2-point try to advance in its eventual state championship season.
“We played East St. John again after blowing them out and it can be hard to refocus,” Boyne said. “That game could have gone either way … you see it in the NFL all the time with divisional games. Rarely is the second game like the first game. You can expect something different. (H.L. Bourgeois is not going to
let us go out and run the same plays, they’ll see what we did and try to take it away. We’ll need answers to their adjustments.”
Bourgeois’ season has been a major success under head coach Sterling Washington. The Braves won just three games combined in 2022 and 2023. The 42-point margin in its loss to Hahnville was by far Bourgeois’ most lopsided of the season, followed by a 26-point loss to Destrehan. Beyond those losses, Bourgeois has stayed competitive in its losses.
Malik Myles is Bourgeois’ top playmaker. The all-purpose back has posted 975 yards on the ground this season. Myles plays running back, wide receiver and will also line up at quarterback depending on the situation. Against East St. John, Myles tallied 101 yards and a touchdown. His best performance came in an early win over Central Catholic, rushing for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Conner Wallace navigates the offense at quarterback.
Defensively, Bourgeois employs heavy zone coverage and looks to make an offense execute and drive for several plays.
“They’re playing with confidence,” said Boyne. “Talking with Coach Washington this season, he’s got guys buying in … their late season games were very close, even in losses. You can see he’s got them moving in the right direction.”
This will be Bourgeois’ first foray into the playoffs in the past few seasons. Hahnville, meanwhile, is back in the mix after missing the postseason a year ago.
Boyne said there’s notable excitement on campus, especially coupled with the Lady Tigers’ volleyball team reaching the state volleyball tournament and the HHS cross country team winning district.
“You can see an extra bounce in everyone’s step,” Boyne said.
Hahnville has reached several of its goals thus far this season – returning to the playoffs, hosting a playoff game, winning the district crown and going unbeaten at home.
“We have a board out in front,” Boyne said, alluding to the wall of district championships and playoff appearances listed by the Tigers’ scoreboard. “We were able to put some numbers up on Monday. Everyone’s excited. We enjoyed it, but now our attention’s on Bourgeois Friday.”
Boyne noted just four players have notable playoff experience from Hahnville’s last appearance two years ago – running back Calvin Smith, wide receiver Kobe Louis, and offensive lineman Brodie Donnaud and Christopher Wilkinson, all seniors.
“We’ll be leaning on those guys, on our seniors,” Boyne said. “We’ll hang our hat on them. We know what we want to do. You set the tone every week in the playoffs … if we do what we’re supposed to do, you’ve got a great chance to be right back out there for a week two.”
For Boyne himself, it’s an exciting time to be on the doorstep of his first postseason game as a head coach.
“This is a group that, since we came here in March, they’ve asked us ‘what do we need to do to be successful?’ And they’ve followed the plan. They’re seeing the results. As a coach, when you see the young guys in the program start to believe and understand, OK, we do have a blueprint for success, that’s pretty exciting,” Boyne said.”
X FACTOR – Throughout the summer, Bennett Naquin competed with Landen Teague for the Tigers’ starting quarterback role. Teague ultimately secured that job; but as the season has gone on, Naquin has earned a larger and larger role – and has done it in a variety of ways.
Last week in Hahnville’s 28-14 win over Lakeshore, Naquin lined up on kick returns, at quarterback, at running back and at receiver as he helped spur the Tigers to victory – and proved he could impact the game from several spots.
“Bennett is a great kid and a hard worker,” said Boyne. “The quarterback battle went down to the wire. As the season’s gone on, you can see him gaining confidence week by week as his role has grown. And every time we add to it, he’s answered.”
Boyne said it’s a credit to Naquin’s work ethic and mental toughness.
“Some kids, if things don’t go a certain way, they say, ‘maybe this is not for me.’ But he’s resilient,” Boyne said. “He asks to do more because he wants to contribute – and he responds when he gets his chance. He works to be ready for it. He and Landen are tight. He never stopped supporting Landen. He loves Hahnville and he loves Hahnville football. Now, he’s not only earned a role, he’s a big part of what we’re doing.”
