It was an ugly night in terms of the weather, but there’s not much more beautiful for Hahnville fans than the final scoreboard at Tiger Stadium Friday night.
Hahnville kicked off its season with a dominant 42-6 win over Booker T. Washington, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter and never looking back from there. The win not only starts Hahnville’s season on a high note, but it also netted new head coach Greg Boyne a victory in his first game leading the program.
Running back Calvin Smith topped the 100-yard mark and scored two of Hahnville’s five rushing touchdowns on the ground. Fabian Celestine, Landen Teague and Bennett Naquin each added rushing scores, while Teague and Kobe Louis combined through the air for a touchdown.
Rain fell consistently throughout the game, but the Tigers protected the football – with just one turnover on a missed exchange – and while the weather suppressed pass attempts, the Tigers dialed up a few successful shot plays when the situation called for it.
“I thought the kids handled it very well,” Boyne said. “We talk all the time about being weatherproof, being able to play in any conditions. I think we’re built for it … the kids were actually pretty excited to play in the rain.”
Teague earned the start at quarterback Friday night and the sophomore played well in his first-ever game. Boyne said this week that both Teague and Naquin would likely see time in the game no matter which player got the starting nod, and that was how it played out as Naquin also led the offense well in his time on the field.
Teague’s touchdown pass to Louis came in the redzone – Louis making an impressive grab in the back of the endzone – and showed the Tigers potentially can force teams to pick their poison.
“They were playing press man coverage and we tell Kobe all the time, that’s disrespectful for somebody to do that to you,” Boyne said. “He made a great play on a well-thrown ball.”
Defensively, Hahnville was stingy and did not allow Booker T. Washington much breathing room.
“We played really well on defense. We had a missed assignment just once all night, I believe,” Boyne said. “Coach (Malter) Scobel’s defense is always gonna be physical and it’s always gonna be flying around. And if you watch us, that’s what you see.”
