Career nights by Dakota Williams and Ryan Gregson helped lift Hahnville to its second straight win Thursday night, the Tigers earning a 49-17 victory over a District 7-5A competitor and continuing to build momentum for the postseason.
Williams hauled in four touchdown receptions, three of those from Gregson and one more from Titus White for good measure. Hahnville was held without points on its first drive, but rolled from there in every phase of the game.
Calvin Smith added a 60-yard touchdown run for Hahnville as well, while Ryan Simmons returned an interception for a touchdown.
The game was originally set to be played Friday night, but was moved to Thursday for weather concerns. That was just fine by the Tigers, who showed no ill effects from a suddenly shortened week of preparation.
“We had a really food week of practice, and honestly I think our guys were ready to get this game in,” said Hahnville head coach Daniel Luquet.
The win moves Hahnville (5-4, 3-2) over the .500 mark for the first time since Week 3, with injuries forcing the team to retool on the fly several times this season.
But now, the Tigers could potentially earn a first round game at home, if things break right in the power points system. Luquet said last week (prior to Thursday’s game) that Hahnville was projecting to be somewhere around the 16-18 seed mark if things kept progressing as they have been. HHS would need to climb to 16 to make that opening round home game a reality.
“We’ve had a tough road to get to this point,” Luquet said. “We’ve had an opportunity to work on some things we’ve struggled with. And one thing that’s really been good for us of late has been our special teams play. They tried to kick away from Dakota, and that created some mistakes on their part.”
Williams missed almost all of his junior season due to a knee injury. Through the first half of the season, he had not scored. Since then, he’s made a home in the endzone. He has scored eight touchdowns from Week 6 onward, including a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns.
“This is what we’ve expected from him all year. Obviously, you have to take into account injury (Williams’ own and quarterback Donovan Friloux, who was injured in the jamboree) and as we’ve gone each week, Ryan’s improved and has gotten more comfortable putting the ball in the air. Dakota’s always had the ability.”
Gregson, meanwhile, has thrown six touchdown passes over the past two weeks, setting a new career best mark last week and tying it a week later.
“The more game and practice reps he gets, the better he is and the better we are at finding the things he’s most comfortable with,” Luquet said. “We stress to get the ball to the playmakers and let them do the work. He’s been doing a good job of that.”
Central Lafourche fell to 1-8 on the season, 0-5 in District 7-5A.
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