Hahnville head coach Nick Saltaformaggio didn’t hold back his enthusiasm after his team’s spring game scrimmage at 2015 Class 5A state runner-up John Ehret. Entering his third year with the Tigers, Saltaformaggio sees great potential in his team and believes it represents the most talent he has had at his disposal in his three seasons at Hahnville.
“This is the best of those three Hahnville football teams,” Saltaformaggio said. “And the last two were 5A quarterfinalists, so they were pretty darn good. But I feel really, really good about what I’ve seen (in the spring). We have the opportunity to have a special football team.”
It was a stark contrast from last spring, when Hahnville was breaking in a drastically new offensive system and struggled notably.
“Last year we were dominated,” Saltaformaggio said. “This time around we were dominant.”
The scrimmage saw both offenses get designated series of plays in its early portion, while a 30-minute half of live play with running clock capped things off.
HHS quarterback Austin Perrin connected with Isaiah Coleman for a 65-yard score in the series portion. Cade Miguez added another touchdown on a 19-yard run, a play set up by Anthony Williams’ juggling catch down the seam for 30 yards. Defensively, the Tigers held Ehret scoreless in the series portion.
The one real blemish for Hahnville’s defense was a 97-yard drive resulting in a touchdown, the lone score for both teams in the 30-minute live half of running time that ended the day’s activities.
Hahnville did endure a scary moment early in the scrimmage. Quarterback Dalton Melancon absorbed a big hit and was carried off the field on a stretcher due to a back injury. Melancon reportedly will be sidelined indefinitely but should not suffer any long term effects.
“It’s hard to watch a kid get hurt, and especially hard to watch when you watch him go off on a back brace,” Saltaformaggio said. “Dalton will be good. He’s a great kid, a hard worker and he’s got a really great family. It definitely took the wind out of us.”
Perrin, who had earned experience as the team’s starting quarterback in 2014 after then-starter Mike Neal was injured, was competing in the spring with Melancon and took most of the day’s reps at quarterback. He made a number of plays with both his arms and his legs.
The team’s backs and receivers did plenty as well. After a stellar sophomore season at both wide receiver and running back, Williams spent most of his time lined out wide, as Davonte Clark and Miguez chewed up yardage on the ground.
“Our offensive line did a great job,” Saltaformaggio said. “We probably rushed for about 200 yards today.”
Saltaformaggio acknowledged there are still positions of concern defensively.
“We’ve got a couple spots where we have to address concerns,” Saltaformaggio said. “Inside linebacker, we struggled a little. We had a couple cornerbacks who we went without today.”
It wasn’t about to quell his enthusiasm, though, after his team stood toe-to-toe with a Patriots’ team returning 16 starters from last year’s Superdome combatant.
“These were two teams that’ll be playing on Thanksgiving week,” Saltaformaggio said.
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