Hahnville High School football fans will get their first glimpse of next season’s team when the Tigers take the field in the annual Burger Bowl, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 10 a.m.
The Burger Bowl is an intrasquad scrimmage where the winners are fed hamburgers while those who are defeated are given peanut butter sandwiches.
Right now, Hahnville head coach Nick Saltaformaggio said the offense holds the edge over the defense thanks to “outstanding” quarterback play.
Though Austin Perrin, who helmed the Tiger offense for most of the season last year, is no longer on the team, Saltaformaggio has three players vying for the starting role.
One of those players is Mike Neal, who started last season as the Tigers signal caller before going down due to injury.
“We are very, very good at quarterback with Mike Neal, Dylan Crockett and Michael Gray,” Saltaformaggio said.
“They are all the kind of quarterback I want in this offense. They are athletic kids who trust reads, can accelerate quickly after the read and use all of their weapons.
“That’s what is making us better on one side of the ball than the other. The kids competing at quarterback are outstanding.”
As for the defense, Saltaformaggio said the unit is shorthanded in a few spots.
“We have a rising sophomore and rising junior having to replace a kid that went to Texas A&M [Dwaine Thomas] and a kid that was a three-year starter for us,” he said. “We knew we would struggle a little there, but I’m kind of surprised that we are struggling on the defensive line.”
But those defensive struggles can be attributed to the Hahnville offensive line, which Saltaformaggio calls the best part of his football team.
“We have five guys there that are really good players,” he said. “I think Drew Melancon is the best offensive lineman in the state. So the defensive line may be struggling, but at least they are struggling against some really good competition”
But Saltaformaggio is confident that his defense will come around.
“We will get there. When you have nine players returning on offense and have kids at quarterback that are making the plays that need to be made, it’s hard to stop this offense,” he said.
While Saltaformaggio has a good idea of what his top players can do on the football field, he will get a better grasp of the talent he has backing them up during the Burger Bowl.
“I’m hoping those guys that are not out with the first 22 or 25 guys have the mindset that they need to be out on the field and battle towards that end,” he said. “They will be pretty good. We have some talented kids.”
The Burger Bowl will take place at HHS’ Tiger Stadium.
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