Hahnville dominated in its season opener, leading by as many as 35 in a rout of visiting Woodlawn-Baton Rouge. At the same time, Hahnville coach Nick Saltaformaggio still says his team has some cleaning up to do. The Tigers weren’t clean in the redzone and left points on the field, the coach said. Mistakes must be eliminated. But Saltaformaggio’s expectations are high, because so is this team’s talent level: after leading Hahnville to consecutive quarterfinal finishes, he believes this is the best squad he’s had in his three seasons with the team.
This week, Hahnville (1-0) hits the road to face Patterson (0-1), which fell 22-12 to Tigers’ district rival Central Lafourche in the opening week. Patterson led 12-0 at halftime and threatened to score a road victory before Central Lafourche found its footing in the second half. Hahnville defeated Patterson last season 38-7.
Saltaformaggio said the Tigers must limit Patterson quarterback Dillan Giandelone (9-for-22, 131 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and 20 carries for 96 yards in last week’s game). He called wide receiver Jordan Butler (four receptions, 89 yards and a touchdown)“exceptionally talented,” while running back Dajon Richard is an athletic threat that powers the ground game. And defensively, a talented linebacking corps can cause fits for the opposition, as it has it shut down the Central Lafourche running game in the first half last week.
“All in all, they’re the typical Patterson football team. They’re talented and they’re used to winning,” Saltaformaggio said. “They’ve got a lot of good athletes. For us, we turn the page from last week and block out anything ahead of us in the coming weeks. It’s all about this week.”
While Saltaformaggio offered some tough love in light of correcting errors—addressing three empty trips to the redzone was atop his to-do list this week – he also had plenty of good to say about how his team has opened the season. The Hahnville defense was missing three key starters in safety Hunter LeBlanc, cornerback Jamar Davis and linebacker Elgin Collins. That side of the ball already was dealing with the departure of several key players from 2015, including its leading tackler, top defensive lineman Stephen Cloud and entire starting secondary. But the first team allowed just six points in its opener.
“To play like we did missing three starters, It’s a very good sign because it shows we have kids we can put in there from a depth perspective who we know can perform and win games,” Saltaformaggio said, also noting LeBlanc, Davis and Collins should be back in the lineup against Patterson.
After struggling to move the ball on the ground in the preseason jamboree against Jesuit, the ground game was back on track Friday. The Tigers rushed for 290 yards in the opener against Woodlawn (0-1) — Devonte Clark rushed nine times for 131 yards and a score. Anthony Williams rushed eight times for 123 yards and a 91-yard score. Cade Miguez, Jonathan Franklin and Austin Perrin each added touchdowns on the ground.
“We ran the ball as well as we thought we would,” Saltaformaggio said. “Our offensive line is getting better by the day.”
Perrin completed 8-of-16 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, showing progress from last week as the senior works his way back after a season away from football. Williams was his favorite target, hauling in four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Michael Gray added two receptions for 31 yards.
In all, Hahnville generated nearly 500 yards of offense, highlighted by Williams 249 total yard performance.
“He is what he is. I’ve been saying it for the past year (that) he’s the best skill position player in the state,” Saltaformaggio said. “He showed it again (against Woodlawn).”
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