Hahnville needed a momentum shift. Jordan Boyle and the Hahnville defense provided one.
Boyle’s interception return for a touchdown tied Hahnville up with host Northshore 7-7, and a Dylan Patterson field goal and Chase Brooks touchdown run from there helped lead the Tigers to a 17-10 road win.
It is the second straight win for Hahnville (2-1), those wins coming in very opposing ways. Last week’s 42-41 overtime win over Mandeville was a wild offensive shootout, while Friday’s game was won on the back of the Tigers’ defense in that unit’s best performance of the season.
“We struggled on offense in the beginning of the game, pretty much for three quarters,” said Hahnville head coach Daniel Luquet. “Our defense played lights out. The biggest thing for me is that we tackled, something we’ve struggled with in the first two weeks – making the tackle when needed. I thought we did a better job tonight and I thought we did a good job of covering their two really, really good receivers. Overall, strong effort by our guys and a great gameplan by our coaching staff.”
T.J. Coleman put Northshore (2-1) ahead early on his 19-yard touchdown reception from Donovan Weilbaecher in the first quarter, making it 7-0.
Hahnville drove inside the Northshore 10 to attempt an answer, but the Panther defense stood tall and made a goal line stand.
That momentum was fleeting, however. Hahnville got pressure home into the Panther backfield and caused an errant throw that was picked off by Boyle, who took full advantage of the turnover and rolled into the endzone from 34 yards away to tie things up before halftime.
“That was a big moment after they’d gone up on us early,” Luquet said. “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot offensively … not too, too many penalties, but the ones we had were inopportune and kept us behind the sticks. That play gave us the chance to go into the half tied up – a big spark from our defense.”
The 7-7 score held until Patterson drilled a 23-yard field goal to give Hahnville its first lead of the night.
Northshore couldn’t provide an answer, and after a Hahnville stop, Chase Brooks all but put the game out of reach with a 44-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7.
The Panthers added a Belle Airey field goal to cut the deficit to 10 and jar the door open for a potential onside kick and tying score, but after offsides penalties negated two consecutive kicks, Hahnville recovered the third to put the game away.
This was the first road game of Hahnville’s season, and the first road start at all for many of the team’s younger players.
“I was very excited about how we played on the road against a seasoned football team in Northshore,” Luquet said. “They have a bunch of guys in key spots who put up a lot of points in the past two weeks, so for us to (keep the Panthers in check) on the road was very exciting.”
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