Former HHS QB wins gold medal for Team USA

Former Hahnville High School quarterback Easton Melancon is now a gold medal winner.

Melancon, who was a member of the U.S. Under-19 National Team, helped lead the squad to an undefeated record in a world football tournament held in Kuwait that included a win over Canada in the championship game.

Team USA built up a 12-7 lead over Canada at the half, but scored 22 points in the third quarter on their way to a 40-17 win. Melancon was 6-for-12 in the victory with 75 yards passing, including a 34-yard touchdown strike.

“It felt amazing,” Melancon said of earning his gold medal. “Thinking back on it, not a lot of people get the opportunity that me and my teammates got. To be able to win that gold was amazing.”

Melancon was selected to the national team after a stellar freshman season at Louisiana College. After taking over the starting role in the third game of the season, Melancon led Louisiana College to a 5-1 record in conference play and ranked second in the league in passing with 2,386 yards.

He finished third in the conference in both yards per game (238.6) and total offense (2,298). After the season he was named Freshman of the Year for the American Southwest Conference.

Melancon helped Team USA reach the gold medal game with wins over Mexico, Germany and Japan. In those three games, Melancon tossed three touchdowns and ran for a 25-yard score.

“I think I did pretty well,” Melancon said. “I could have done better, but my teammates picked me up when I struggled. My job was to help the team win gold and we accomplished that.”

He said playing against teams from across the world was a unique experience.

“All the teams played football like we would play, but they had little differences. When Japan was on defense, they wouldn’t stop talking. They were talking in Japanese the whole time on the field and I couldn’t understand what they were saying,” Melancon said.

Melancon feels like the experience he gained during the once-in-a-lifetime world tourney will help him be a better player for Louisiana College this fall.

“I think I got better by going against competition like that and playing with guys from across the country,” he said. “I learned a lot from the coaches.”