Counting the preseason jamboree, Hahnville is set to face its third opponent from the River Parishes this season on Friday night as the Tigers travel to Lutcher.
Previously, Hahnville (1-2) faced St. James in jamboree action and St. Charles Catholic in Week 2, both losses. The Bulldogs (2-1) have won two straight entering Friday night’s game; Hahnville is looking for a second straight win of its own after notching a 42-31 win on the road at E.D. White.
This will be a matchup of programs that have 15 state championship wins between them all time, Lutcher with nine and Hahnville with six. LHS head football coach Dwain Jenkins guided the Bulldogs to two of those, in 2016 and 2022.
Jenkins’ current team looks like it could potentially push Lutcher’s title count into double figures. After a season opening loss to Northshore, it’s reeled off wins against Donaldsonville and, most recently, a 49-35 win over Slidell.
As most Lutcher teams do, this is a team that keeps the scoreboard operator busy. Scoring 35, 57 and 49 points through three weeks.
Terron Charles leads the way at quarterback and he’s got options – he can take off with his legs or challenge the defense vertically and horizontally both with receivers Ashton Stark and Johnny Jones. Stark is a Kansas State commitment and Hahnville will also see him line up on defense at cornerback. Jones brings size at 6’2 and tremendous ball skills as well.
“(Charles) is really good,” said Hahnville head football coach Greg Boyne. “Coach Jenkins played a couple of guys early on last year and they ultimately went to Charles, and now he’s back with experience under his belt. They’ve got receivers everywhere. The offensive line is big and physical. They’re a handful.”
Charles got that experience as a freshman last season. The future appears bright for the sophomore quarterback.
“Coach Jenkins spends a lot of time developing the quarterbacks, and you can see that even for a young kid, the development is pretty fast,” said Boyne of Charles. “And when it comes to the receivers, when you have two guys like that, you can play one in the slot and move them around, then you have a quarterback who can run and get them the ball – that’s a lot to defend. Some teams have tried to play man against them, and that didn’t bring a lot of success.”
Stark, Boyne said, is the best cornerback the Tigers have seen so far this year. Overall, Lutcher brings a very fast defense.
“Their scheme is actually pretty similar to what we saw last week with E.D. White. They’ll play an odd front and then the next series its an even front. Similar coverages most of the time,” said Boyne. “In terms of athletic ability, it’s a significant jump from last week. I think they can match our speed, if not a little bit faster. There are also some things I think we can take advantage of.”
Last week saw Fabian Celestine have his best game of the season so far, rushing 19 times for 196 yards and a touchdown. Boyne said it was a matter of time for the talented senior running back.
“We’ve played some pretty good defenses,” said Boyne. “I don’t know if it was the start he wanted to the season. We’ve had to sharpen some things with the passing game with our new receivers, basically three new starters on the offensive line. People can take (the rushing production) for granted. But he works at his craft. He practices hard. He’s coachable and he watches film. He’d been close, and once he broke those two long runs last week, I think it brought him a sense of relief. He had a tremendous game.”
Landen Teague passed for 282 yards and a touchdown, while running for two others. Aaron Williams caught five passes for 147 yards. Early James caught two passes for 89 yards and a score.
