Hahnville took to the practice field this week looking to brush itself off after a heavyweight fight of a District 8-5A opener on Friday that resulted in its first loss of the season.
The Tigers fell at Terrebonne, 52-38, on a night THS made a few more plays – most notably, running back Quincy Adams on a dominant rushing night for both he and his team’s offensive line.
Hahnville head coach Greg Boyne said his team entered the week ready to work to get back on the board with a win – and that the opponent this week certainly has the Tigers’ attention as Hahnville travels to face another district foe, H.L. Bourgeois.
H.L. Bourgeois is 3-1 thus far this season, continuing the positive progress head coach Sterling Washington has made with the Braves since taking the helm of the program. Bourgeois went 5-5 a season ago, and Hahnville (3-1, 0-1) is quite familiar with this team: the two schools faced off twice last season, the first time a 42-0 loss at Tiger Stadium.
The two teams met in Boutte again in the opening round of the playoffs and the Braves made an impression that night – pushing the Tigers in a game Hahnville ultimately captured to advance but that came in far more difficult fashion, 49-39.
“Obviously, they got our attention,” said Boyne of that game. “That may be one reason our preparation’s been good so far these past few days … we stalled out, made some mistakes and let them kind of hang around in that game, and once a team that’s got talent starts thinking they can win, the sky’s the limit.”
Boyne said that makes it all the more important to get off to a fast start this week.
Bourgeois enters the game hot, winners of three in a row after dropping a 45-40 opener to Ascension Catholic. Since then, the Braves have defeated Assumption 29-26, Central Catholic 34-14 and Patterson, 47-40.
“Coach Washington has, as far back as I can remember, he has his team competing every week,” said Boyne. “They’re 3-1 and right in the playoff mix again, and you can tell the kids believe in what he’s doing.”
It’s a team that can put up points – the offense is doing what it’s been tasked to do since the offseason, as the majority of the Braves’ starting defensive unit from 2024 were lost to graduation. It starts with running back Kadar Mitchell, who can create an explosive play on a moment’s notice. Mitchell scored on a 92-yard run in the season opener and hasn’t looked back since.
“He’s another strong, fast running back that we’re gonna see again this week,” said Boyne. “He does a really good job of running in that zone scheme. They run some gap and some counter, too. He hits the hole, he’s fast, he’s big and he’s strong. He’s got good hands out the backfield – he’s a very talented player and he’ll be a handful for us.”
Logan Renfro is the leader in the huddle at quarterback, a very productive player that can hurt a defense multiple ways. He had a big game in the team’s win over Central Catholic, throwing three touchdown passes and running in another score.
“We saw him last year in JV, and he’s kind of picked up where they left off,” said Boyne. “He’s got a couple of big receivers to throw to. Terrebonne’s offensive line is probably the best we’ll see, but besides that Bourgeois is very similar to Terrebonne athletically. (Bourgeois) maybe likes to throw a little bit more.”
Defensively, Bourgeois brings a tall and athletic secondary and plays a lot of zone, looking to make the opposition march downfield without making a mistake.
The Hahnville offense has been rolling this season, but Bourgeois is comfortable in a shootout. In last week’s game against Patterson, Lumberjacks quarterback Hayven Keller accounted for five touchdowns – that still wasn’t enough to win, in large part due to Mitchell’s five touchdown, 200-plus yard night.
TAKING OFF – Hahnville is averaging 39.2 points per game thus far this season, with quarterback Landen Teague posting 612 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions through the air and Fabian Celestine notching 344 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Those big scoring nights are possible in large part due to the Tigers’ big play ability. Boyne said that credit to that end should find its way to a group of very willing blockers downfield.
“I’ve always told our receivers if they want to touch the ball, they’ve got to block,” said Boyne. “It’s not the most fun, glamourous part of playing receiver, but they’ve bought in.”
Teague has been spreading the ball out to several different pass catchers. Bennett Naquin’s been having a breakout season. Kevias Singleton hauled in a scoring pass on Friday night and is showing himself to be a weekly downfield threat. Slot receiver Lance Marshall, another reliable weapon, was sidelined Friday night and Boyne noted Kaden Bran and Aaron Williams both played strong games to hold the slot position down.
Even as a sophomore in his first season as starter in 2024, Teague established that he values the football – he finished the regular season with no interceptions. At the same time, he’s on pace to easily eclipse his yardage and touchdown marks from a year ago.
“He just sees the game so much better,” said Boyne. “He’s at the point where he’ll point out something to me that I might have missed in practice, maybe ‘Do we need this receiver maybe a little bit wider to run this route?’ He just understands so much of what we want to do. He understands the protections, and he’s learned how to move in the pocket … it’s fun to watch. He’s got 15, 16 starts … that’s still not a ton of experience. He’s still learning the position and that’s very exciting.”
