A look ahead to Hahnville’s 2024 football schedule:
The first game of the Greg Boyne era at Hahnville will see Booker T. Washington visit Tiger Stadium in Week 1. Washington went 4-6 last season, qualifying for the Division II select playoffs and bowing out to Peabody in round one.
Washington played a challenging early schedule last season, going 0-4 against Salmen, Ehret, Warren Easton and St. Amant. It seemed to pay off once the Lions got into the season’s home stretch, going 4-2 over the final six weeks of the regular season.
For Hahnville, this will be the first of several home games over the first half of the season – four of the Tigers’ first five games will be played at Tiger Stadium, offering an opportunity for a strong start in Boyne’s first season as head coach.
In Week 2, McMain visits Hahnville. The Mustangs program was suspended last season, part of a penalty levied by the LHSAA after it was determined the school allowed ineligible athletes to take part in games in 2022.
There is a River Parishes connection here – Brandon Walters, who guided West St. John to a state championship victory in 2017 and was part of the West St. John staff for 17 years as both an assistant and head coach, will be beginning his first season as head coach of the Mustangs.
A challenge awaits in Week 3.
The Tigers will visit E.D. White, which comes off of an undefeated regular season in 2023. The Cardinals reached the state quarterfinals in Division II select as the No. 2 seed, falling to No. 7 Teurlings Catholic.
E.D. White was unchallenged for most of the 2023 regular season, with a 27-19 win over St. James in Week 10 representing the lone game the Cardinals won by less than two touchdowns.
District 7-5A play begins in Week 4. Unlike the past few seasons, Destrehan does not await to kick-start district play, but a tough matchup awaits nonetheless as Terrebonne visits Hahnville.
Terrebonne is another team on the schedule with West St. John ties, as former Rams’ standout Tyler Lewis has overseen an ascending program over the past two seasons.
This game could also carry a bit of extra meaning for returning Hahnville players. It was Terrebonne that effectively eliminated Hahnville from postseason contention in Week 10 of last season, 45-28 winners at THS, ending Hahnville’s streak of consecutive postseason appearances at 23. Terrebonne went 7-4 last season, bowing out in round one of the playoffs as a 17 seed to No. 16 Westgate.
Week 5 brings H.L. Bourgeois to Tiger Stadium. The Braves program has struggled in recent years, going 2-8 last season including a 28-0 loss to Hahnville in Boutte.
Hahnville goes on the road in Week 6 to face Thibodaux, which went 4-6 last season. The missing game is linked to Hahnville as the two played a 2023 game memorable for all the wrong reasons. Gunshots that rang out outside of the stadium that night led to the game’s suspension early in the third quarter with Hahnville leading 20-12, and the matchup was ultimately cancelled.
Thibodaux fell in round one of the playoffs last season, the No. 20 seed falling 42-9 to No. 13 Southside. It finished 3-2 in district play, including a rivalry win over Terrebonne.
Next, Central Lafourche visits Hahnville. The Trojans fell 42-13 to Hahnville last season, one in which CLHS went 1-9 overall.
That brings Weeks 8 and 9 – a two-game set that will tell a lot about this Tiger team’s 2024 ceiling. Both games on the road, both against heated local rivals.
Week 8 yields a visit to Reserve, where East St. John awaits. ESJ went 7-4 last season, reaching round one of Division I non-select and falling to No. 18 Central-Baton Rouge. The Wildcats began last season 7-0 but cooled down the stretch, falling in their final four games including that opening round loss.
During that hot start, ESJ did defeat Hahnville, holding off a furious HHS rally in the fourth quarter to earn a 42-37 win in Reserve. East St. John has won four in a row over Hahnville, the Tigers’ last win in the rivalry a 21-0 road victory in 2019.
ESJ has been in the thick of the 7-5A championship race late into each of the past two seasons under head coach Brandon Brown.
Next: Destrehan.
The Super Bowl of St. Charles Parish – more officially known as the Battle on the River – will have all of the usual storylines, plus one more. Boyne leads his Tigers for the first time against a Destrehan program he served on staff for over many years, including as offensive coordinator in Destrehan’s 2022 undefeated championship season. It will also be the first head coaching matchup between Boyne and Marcus Scott, longtime friends and colleagues who coached together at both West Jefferson and Destrehan.
But that’s only added spice to a main course that always brings a full house of fans and then some to one of the most iconic prep rivalries there is. It’s a rivalry that’s tilted heavily in Destrehan’s favor over the past several years. Hahnville’s last win over the Wildcats came in the Tigers’ 2017 state finalist season. Last season, Destrehan earned a 47-11 victory.
That game represents the last of six consecutive District 7-5A games. Hahnville wraps up its regular season back at home in Week 10, welcoming Lakeshore in non-district action. Lakeshore went 5-5 in 2023, earning the No. 16 seed in Division II non-select and falling to 17th seeded DeRidder in round one.
9/6 vs. Booker T. Washington
