While it’s homecoming week for Hahnville, it’s also in a way a homecoming for Thibodaux head coach Lowell Narcisse, who is no stranger to the River Parishes.
During his playing days, Narcisse led St. James to a state final appearance and left the school as a four-star recruit. Narcisse heads over from Ascension Catholic, where he guided the Bulldogs to the Division IV Select state semifinals and an 11-2 record in his first and only season as head coach there.
He and Thibodaux (5-0, 2-0) visit Tiger Stadium in Boutte this Friday night to take on Hahnville (4-1, 1-1).
Thibodaux went 4-6 last season, but under Narcisse, the turnaround is well underway – Thibodaux already has more wins than last season to go with an undefeated record. THS reached the playoffs before bowing out in round one to Mandeville, 31-18.
Hahnville defeated Thibodaux 45-21 last year at THS.
HHS head coach Greg Boyne said that it’s clear on film that Narcisse has the program heading in the right direction.
“You can tell right away they’re playing with a lot of energy, discipline and they’ve got the kids buying into the system on both sides of the ball,” said Boyne. “He played for Coach (Dwain) Jenkins and Coach (Robert) Valdez and those are guys who have historically built winning programs, so he knows the right way to do it. And you can see they’re doing a lot right to be where they are.”
Boyne said Thibodaux isn’t a team built around a few superstars – it’s more of an ensemble.
“The quarterback does a good job of running the offense and the skill guys are very athletic. They’re not overly big. They remind me of us in a lot of ways,” Boyne said. “Multiple on offense, they bounce between tempos, use motion a lot and they run from a ton of formations.”
Damien Robinson keys the offense at quarterback in his first season as starter. He accounted for five touchdowns in a decisive win over Assumption. Cemiyan Adams has had some explosive games at running back – he scored four times in a blowout win over L.B. Landry in Week 2. Adams has played well in the stead of Amari Griffin, who entered the season as starter before being injured. Thibodaux operates behind an offensive line that brings some size.
Defensively, Thibodaux mixes up coverages on the back end and Boyne said it does some things Hahnville hasn’t seen a lot of before.
“They’ll run some split coverages – one side of the field might be man, the other zone. It’s a challenge for sure,” Boyne said.
Jeremiah Jones is among the most experienced players on the defensive side and the defensive tackle helps key things up front.
Thibodaux hasn’t been tested as Hahnville has at times this season, but has been dominant in all five of its wins over South Lafourche, Central Lafourche, Assumption, Landry and its most recent win, a 25-6 victory over East St. John last week.
Notably, the Thibodaux defense has allowed just 39 combined points in 2025, and just 12 over the past three weeks; Hahnville, meanwhile, has topped that total three times in games thus far.
HOMECOMING – Beyond just the homecoming festivities, Boyne said it’s simply good to have his team set to play back on its home field after two weeks on the road.
He’s confident his team will handle any potential distractions that come with the week’s celebration.
“It’s a pretty good time for us because Thibodaux’s a team that demands the kids’ attention and the coaches’ attention. We want the kids to enjoy the week and all the festivities, but I don’t think they’ll get too caught up in it. We have the motorcade (Wednesday) and after that a lot is kind of out the way,” Boyne said.
EMERGING WEAPON – Jackson Porter’s done a bit of everything for Hahnville this season, but Friday was the first game he primarily focused on one position – running back.
He took to it well. Running as the second back behind Fabian Celestine, Porter rushed five times for 85 yards and a touchdown, putting his wealth of athleticism on display that made the Tiger coaches so excited about what he could bring in his sophomore season.
“He’s very talented,” said Boyne. “A three-sport kid, and honestly if he were able to he’d be four – football, basketball, baseball and he would have run track.” said Boyne. “It’s rare, if not impossible these days. He’s a tremendous basketball player. And football-wise, we thought so much of him – he can play linebacker, he can play down safety, he can play running back, H-back, be on kickoff returns.”
Boyne said the responsibilities on his plate were a lot to ask of a young player, however, and the decision was made to allow him to focus on running back.
“(Defensive coordinator Malter Scobel) didn’t want to give him up at linebacker because he has a high ceiling. But he understood,” said Boyne. “I talked to Jackson and he was very confident in his ability to play running back. He’s always played on the offensive side, be it quarterback, running back, so he was very comfortable.”
