Hahnville’s victory over Central Lafourche last week give them a shot at getting as high as an 11 seed going into the postseason. All that stands in their way is Friday’s opponent, South Lafourche.
Hahnville head coach Nick Saltaformaggio said junior quarterback Mike Neal was “rusty” in his first game since missing seven after a broken collarbone. He said, however, that Neal and sophomore Austin Perrin are both ready to win football games going into the postseason.
Perrin, who has started the last seven games for the Tigers, started a majority of the first half last week. Neal saw action in the second half. The decision as to who will start, which includes junior quarterback Dylan Crockett, will come down to who performs best in practice.
Saltaformaggio said all three bring something different to the quarterback position.
“It’s a great problem to have,” Saltaformaggio said. “At the beginning of the year we thought we only had one quarterback, and now we have three.”
The Hahnville defense has also played well during Hahnville’s last four wins. Last week, the Tiger defense recovered a fumble for a touchdown, as well as getting an interception. Saltaformaggio credited the various drills the team runs throughout the week with the success the defense has enjoyed in generating points off of turnovers.
“We have the talent,” said Saltaformaggio of the defense, “we just have to continue to play with the type of aggression and physicality to create those turnovers.”
Last week’s matchup also gave Hahnville the second opportunity all season to bring in non-starters on the defense. Despite allowing 13 points, Saltaformaggio was pleased with how the players performed, and said it was more important to get these players in the game.
“It’s never a bad experience to get Friday night experience,” he said.
Hahnville has a particularly young roster, starting only six seniors on both sides of the ball. All three quarterbacks will return next year, as well as the highly productive running core of Devonte’ Cravin, Norquell Flowers and Devonte Clark.
Two of Hahnville’s biggest threats through the air, Brandon Singleton and Rickey Preston, are seniors. Running back Bradley Aucoin, a hard-hitting back, is also in his last year.
Hahnville faces a South Lafourche team this week that is fighting for a spot in the playoffs. At 3-3 in district games, a victory over the Tigers would give South Lafourche momentum going into the postseason.
“Both of us have a lot at stake,” Saltaformaggio said.South Lafourche has averaged more than 22 points per game throughout the season.
Saltaformaggio said South Lafourche quarterback Harvey Allen is “extremely elusive” and may cause trouble for his defense. He referred to the Tarpon scheme as a “mirror image” of what Hahnville faced against Central Lafourche.
South Lafourche defeated Central in week six, 44-27. The Tarpons were shut out last week against Thibodeaux, 35-0.
Saltaformaggio said he would continue to run the ball heavily against an exceptionally large Tarpon defense, while looking for big play opportunities through the air.
“They’re typical South Lafourche kids—big strong kids,” Saltaformaggio said. “They’re not overly fast, but they’re in the right spots all the time.”
The South Lafourche defense has given up an average of nearly 35 points per game.
This Friday is the last regular game of the football season. Saltaformaggio said he does not like to entertain the idea of a loss going into the playoffs. He said a win, however, should place the Tigers somewhere between the 11th and 13th seed in the playoffs. Last week Saltaformaggio told the Herald-Guide that he had hoped to end the season lower than a 10th seed.
The Tigers face off against the Tarpons in Galliano this Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.
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