At midseason, it seemed improbable Hahnville would be hosting a first round playoff game, much less as a top 10 seed in Class 5A.
But indeed the Tigers (7-3) are, thanks to an absolute tear in the second half of the season. No. 7 Hahnville prepares to host No. 26 Alexandria (6-4) this Friday, the Tigers seeking to extend their season with a sixth straight win.
Since a three game losing streak that saw HHS fall to Riverside, Destrehan and St. Thomas More, the latter a crushing 52-12 defeat in Lafayette, the Tigers have been reborn. Hahnville has steamrolled the competition, beating Terrebonne, East St. John, Central Lafourche, H.L. Bourgeois and Thibodaux by a combined score of 212-52. In four of those games, the Tigers scored 40 points or more; in all five, Hahnville allowed two touchdowns or less.
“You know, at midseason, Hahnville was probably at the lowest point, football wise, it’s been in a long, long time,” Hahnville coach Nick Saltaformaggio said. “Our players and coaches have responded like champions. We dug ourselves out of a hole.
“We had people looking around at each other, looking at me … I know I felt like I had to prove myself all over again. And thankfully, my players did that for me. I can’t even tell you how grateful I am to them.”
To continue Hahnville’s hot play, the Tigers will have to subdue a super charged Alexandria offense. The average Alexandria game has had a final score of 49.9-34.4, and the Trojans have scored as many as 76 points in a game this season and haven’t been held to less than 35 in any game.
As one would expect, Alexandria is comfortable in a shootout situation. Alexandria perhaps could have been a higher seed but for a pair of losses by less than a touchdown; a 57-56 loss to Ruston and a 46-40 loss to Ouachita loom large in their seeding.
The offense is led by towering 6-foot-7 senior quarterback Matt Beck, who has signed to play baseball at LSU. In his best outing this season, he passed for 580 yards; he’s topped 3,000 passing yards over his 10 starts.
“He’s ridiculously good,” Saltaformaggio said.
Suede Taylor is one of the team’s top playmakers at receiver, while Andrew Bell is a redzone threat at 6-foot-4. Slotback Tyler Clark and running back Kyle Smith are other dangerous, productive weapons for the Trojans.
“We can’t give up any cheap scores,” Saltaformaggio said. “We’ve got to tackle, and, most importantly, we have to control the ball. If we control the ball, they can’t score, because they’re on the sideline.”
One advantage on the Tigers’ side is they’ll be playing in front of their home fans against a team making a long road trip.
“It’s great from the standpoint that we can keep our established routine,” Saltaformaggio said. “It’s great to be playing in front of the Hahnville fans. They’re special.
“We’re going to have to play well every down. This is the state playoffs now.”
Last week, the Tigers put together a resounding statement win on a muddy night at Thibodaux (6-4), dominating from beginning to end in a 45-14 rout. Hahnville quarterback Mike Neal threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more to lead the Tigers, who finish as District 7-5A runner-ups.
Neal connected on touchdown passes to Devonte Cravin and Anthony Williams. Devonte Clark rushed for two touchdowns.
“As a high school player, there’s absolutely nothing like playing at home in the playoffs,” Neal said, alluding to the fact the win clinched a home postseason game for Hahnville. “This was an important game, especially for our seniors, because we wanted to play at home again. The field didn’t bother us. It’s just mud. You take care of ball security, that’s all it comes down to.”
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