Trailing 21-0 at the half, the Hahnville Tigers fought back with a second-half surge that included 14 straight points, but the STM Cougars pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a 35-14 victory.
St. Thomas More looked like they were going to blow the Tigers away in the first half, as the Cougars quickly scored 21 straight points to start off the game. On their first series, quarterback Matthew Flores broke through the Hahnville line and hugged the left sideline for a 60-yard run. On the next play, Joe Oliver LaPrairie ran around the Tiger defense for a 28-yard score that gave STM a 7-0 advantage with 6:22 left in the first quarter.
It would take the Cougars less than a minute to add to that lead.
With Hahnville facing a 1st and 10 at their own 21, quarterback Brian Ensminger was intercepted by Jeremy White, who returned it 23 yards to make the score 14-0 with 6:07 left in the first quarter.
The Cougars final touchdown of the half came with just 20 seconds left in the opening quarter when Samuel Scofield returned an Ahmad White punt 65 yards to make the score 21-0.
The Tiger defense held tough throughout the game – especially in the second quarter when they applied pressure to STM’s passing quarterback Brandon Bourgeois. Their intensity set the stage for the second half.
The Tigers’ first scoring drive was set up by an interception from Linzell Rhodes. Hahnville started at their own 29 and methodically drove down the field using some quarterback scrambles from Ensminger combined with solid power runs from White. Ensminger would eventually score on a 1-yard sneak with 4:34 left in the third.
After that, neither offense had much success, but the Tiger defense came through once again.
With STM punting from their own 21, cornerback Tyren Hills blocked the ball, which bounced into the waiting arms of Jerqwinick Sandolph. Sandolph ran untouched into the end zone to bring the Tigers to within a touchdown at 21-14.
But that’s as close as Hahanville would get.
Flores picked up 38 yards on a 3rd and 11 play in the fourth quarter, and then scored on a 25-yard run to put STM on top 28-14.
LaPrairie then put the game away with a 28-yard score with three minutes left to play.
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