Hahnville coach Nick Saltaformaggio knows his Tigers will be hosting a Central Lafourche squad that is playing with its back against the wall Friday night. “They’re fighting for a playoff spot, fighting to get in,” Saltaformaggio said. “It’s the same spot they were in last year at this time.”
Friday’s game in Boutte represents a battle of teams trending in opposite directions, but both with plenty to play for. Central Lafourche (4-3, 0-3) won its first four games of the season, but District 7-5A play has been unkind to the Trojans, who have lost to H.L. Bourgeois, Thibodaux and Destrehan in successive weeks.
Hahnville (5-2, 2-1), conversely, has been on fire since its Week 5 comeback victory over St. Thomas More, winners of three straight games, the last two each by 21 points or more.
Central Lafourche badly needs a win to restore its hopes to reach the postseason. Saltaformaggio said his team must not allow a likely emotional Trojans squad to set the tone, noting his team also needs a win in this one.
“You can’t let them impose their will on you. You have to impose your will on them,” Saltaformaggio said. “They’re playing for a playoff spot, but we need this win to earn a good seed. Right now, we’re around 15 or 16. You don’t want to be there, because that means if you win a game, you’re getting the 1 or 2 seed.”
Quarterback Jake Allemand pilots the Trojans offense, focusing primarily on getting the ball to a pair of big wide receivers in Kenneth Poindexter (6’4) and David Robinson (6’3). Central Lafourche averaged 32 points per game in non-district play, but has only topped 21 points since the beginning of 7-5A competition.
Hahnville hopes to continue to limit the Trojans and continue a trend of strong defensive play over the past two weeks. Saltaformaggio expressed concern about his stop unit after allowing 42 points to St. Thomas More, but the Tigers have responded with a shutout against Terrebonne and a largely suffocating performance at East St. John.
“I’m always concerned about defense, but have been playing a whole lot better,” Saltaformaggio said. “St. Thomas More did what they did to us to Carencro over the weekend. We’ve been making strides.”
One place he’d like to see more progression is in the defensive performance after a change in possession.
“Our sudden change defense needs improvement,” Saltaformaggio said. “We allowed a fake punt (to East St. John) to get converted, then they go in and score. That’s been a bit of a problem for us … you’d like to never turn it over the rest of the season and not have to deal with that at all, but it’s really not realistic. We have to do a better job responding.”
Offensively, the Tigers scored 41 points last week, representing the third straight week of 40 points or more and the fourth time in six games Hahnville has topped the 30 point mark. It’s a far cry from a little over a year ago, when a change in offensive scheme brought on a great deal of growing pains in the early part of the 2015 season.
In the first five games of last season, Hahnville scored 24, 28, 7, 23 and 12 points, respectively. But after adding a few tweaks in the wake of its 52-12 loss at St. Thomas More last year, Hahnville has scored 40 or more points in 10 of 15 games, averaging 37.3 points per game over that span.
Saltaformaggio gave a large deal of credit to offensive coordinator Lester Ricard for his play calling over that span, and said the second-year Hahnville assistant has particularly been “tremendous” since the second half of the Week 4 Destrehan game, in which the Tigers scored all 28 of its points in the second half during a furious comeback effort.
There could be a wrinkle in the mix this week, however; Ricard and his wife are expecting a new addition to the family soon, the birth of a child, and the potential that the Tigers go without him on Friday, were that milestone to occur then, is present.
“I know I’d hate to be without him, because he’s been great for us,” Saltaformaggio said. “But we’re all extremely happy for them.”
Regardless, one issue the Tigers must address, Saltaformaggio said, is the need to find a consistent third receiver in the wake of Waylon LeBlanc’s season-ending collarbone injury.
“Last week, we really missed Waylon LeBlanc,” Saltaformaggio said. “We felt that sting of not having him out there. We dropped some passes and one of those went for a pick six. Someone has to emerge as that third receiver behind Anthony (Williams) and Jamel (Byrd). Right now, we don’t have it and that hurts.”
Of additional note to those attending the game will be that Hahnville is going to celebrate its 40th year of football on Friday. Saltaformaggio said the school will honor former players who helped establish the program and its tradition.
Hahnville shook off a rough start at East St. John last Friday night, in the end posting a dominant performance in a 41-20 victory in District 7-5A action.
Anthony Williams and Devonte Clark each scored two touchdowns. Austin Perrin rushed for another, while the Tigers got a defensive score on an interception return by Khalil Mason.
East St. John (2-5, 1-3) led 13-0 in the game, just as it did a week ago against Destrehan. The Tigers scored 34 unanswered points to seize control from there.
Hahnville moved the ball throughout the night, but first-half turnovers thwarted promising drives. In the second half, the Tigers largely turned to the ground game and controlled both the ball and the scoreboard.
“That’s what we want to do,” Saltaformaggio said. “I know Austin’s had those back to back 300 yard games, but (running the ball well) is how you win football games.”
Hahnville led 14-13 in the third quarter before William Brown intercepted Destrehan’s Marquise Darensbourg and set up a 2-yard Clark touchdown plunge to make it 21-13 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
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