Starting a season 0-2 is never fun for a program like Hahnville, even given the degree of difficulty of those matchups against a state champion and state runner-up in St. Charles and Shaw, respectively.
But the vibes are quite high for the Tigers after back-to-back wins over E.D. White and, most recently, Lutcher – both of those on the road. Hahnville’s 42-21 win over the Bulldogs Friday saw the two teams duel to a 21-21 tie score in the second quarter before a dominant effort for the Tigers from there.
“You could kind of feel it Monday, a good energy,” said Hahnville head football coach Greg Boyne of the practice vibe following the win. “And I thought we by far had our best practice of the year.”
It was a good start to what will be an abbreviated week of preparation for the Tigers, as well as their opponent this week, H.L. Bourgeois. This week’s game will be Thursday night at Tiger Stadium due to concerns over inclement weather on Friday night. Thus, Hahnville’s Homecoming game comes one day earlier than expected. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Boyne said the decision to move the game up a day was made because the weather situation extends into Saturday and perhaps Sunday as well – meaning there was the potential to not be able to get the game in at all if it were not played early.
Bourgeois went 5-5 last season, including a 48-7 loss to Hahnville. New head coach Munchie Legaux, who starred at Karr and the University of Cincinnati as quarterback during his playing days, has taken on a rebuilding project of the Braves program, and the team fell to 0-4 this season with a 41-0 loss to East St. John last week.
Ethan Rhodes leads the huddle at quarterback for the Braves, the sophomore winning a preseason competition for the position.
“They get the ball out quickly,” said Boyne. “(Rhodes) is similar to their quarterback last year. He’s got a good arm. He’s got some skilled guys to throw to as well.”
Defensively, La’Rance Mitchell can cause plenty of problems. The senior defensive end is a three-year starter and he earns high praise from Boyne.
“Aside from (Rontrae Carter) at Shaw, Mitchell is probably the best defensive player we’ve seen in these first five games,” said Boyne. “He’s a really good football player. Good size, good speed off the edge. He’s definitely a concern.”
On the opposite side, Tyler Harris is another talented and productive defensive end. At 6’2 and 230 pounds, he’s another disruptive force.
“They play a couple of different fronts, but neither of them come out the game,” said Boyne. “They may change the nose guard or defensive tackle, but those two stay out there consistently.”
The secondary is skilled and Bourgeois leans on them heavily, playing an aggressive man to man style.
“They’re very fast and very athletic,” Boyne said. “You don’t see many teams play man defense as much as they do.”
Against Lutcher, it was a complete team effort in a decisive win.
Fabian Celestine rushed 26 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He added a 62-yard catch to finish with 212 total yards on the night.
Landen Teague completed 18 of 27 passes with a touchdown and an interception through the air, while rushing eight times for 62 yards and three touchdowns.
“It comes 100 percent down to preparation throughout the week. We work hard every day. Huge props to my O-line, they did amazing today. They work the hardest out of everyone all week,” Teague said. “Without that line, I wouldn’t be anything.”
Treson Fields rushed seven times for 68 yards – as a team, HHS rushed for 270 yards and five scores.
Dwayne Cola caught five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Kaiden Bran caught six passes for 75 yards and Aaron Williams four for 44 yards.
Defensively, Hahnville earned 10 sacks, including 3.5 each by Beaux Woods and Tyler Martin.
“I made a lot of mental mistakes in the first half, and my coaches just trusted and put me back on the field. I used my speed moves and my hands to my advantage … I used the things the coaches said at halftime as my fuel. And I’ve got to give a whole lot of praise to our secondary as well,” Woods said.
