Hahnville has put its midseason losing streak squarely in its rearview mirror.
After consecutive defeats to Riverside, Destrehan and St. Thomas More — the latter two by a combined 68 points — the Tigers quickly captured two wins by their own lopsided margin, a 41-10 win over Terrebonne and, last week, a 49-15 victory over East St. John.
The Tigers will attempt to make it three in a row this week as they visit Central Lafourche this Friday night.
The Trojans (4-3, 1-2) are themselves attempting to reverse a negative trend, just as Hahnville did two weeks ago. Central Lafourche lost to Destrehan last week, 31-7, and a week prior to that fell to Thibodaux, 41-20.
The Destrehan game, though, showed the Trojans can be a tough foe for anyone — the Wildcats led by 10 at halftime before eventually pulling away in the second half.
“They’re a good football team, 4-3, just like we are,” Hahnville coach Nick Saltaformaggio said. “They’re battling for the same thing we’re battling for. They’re good in a lot of areas.”
The Trojans were able to slow Destrehan for parts of last week’s game, Saltaformaggio said, because their defense is adapt at limiting explosive plays.
“On the back end, they eliminate the big play. We don’t do that consistently,” Saltaformaggio said. “That’s why they were able to have some success against Destrehan, whereas we really struggled.”
Offensively, Central Lafourche looks to run the football. Tailback Nelton Allen leads the way, while Austin Aucoin leads the team at quarterback. Andrew Griffin is the team’s most explosive player at wide receiver.
“Up front, those guys are very physical,” Saltaformaggio said. “Their quarterback is experienced. They’ve not only got talented kids, but they’re deep as well.”
Saltaformaggio said that while Hahnville has made a big turn since their Week 5 loss to St. Thomas More, there is still progress to be made, and much of it. Offensively and defensively, the Tigers are growing into midseason changes; the offense boasts a shotgun heavy attack now, while the defense has added some size up front, shifting from a 3-3-5 alignment to incorporate a fourth linebacker.
“We’re still in the process of figuring out who we are and what we are,” Saltaformaggio said. “There are moments where we look like a really good football team, but we’ve also really struggled at times.”
The addition of an extra linebacker, Saltaformaggio said, has allowed the team to simplify its coverages.
“We just needed a bigger body, another tackler,” he said. “Outside of that two game stretch against Destrehan and St. Thomas More, we’ve played pretty well defensively. We’re great defensively at this point, but we’re working on getting there.”
In Hahnville’s win over East St. John, Anthony Williams put on a show, finishing with 250 total offensive yards (173 rushing, 77 receiving) and a touchdown on 12 touches. He added 103 yards as a punt returner, including a 77-yard score, and a 35-yard kickoff return.
In all, Williams tallied 388 all-purpose yards, showing why the sophomore has already garnered plenty of Division I interest.
“He’s insane. He’s ridiculous,” Saltaformaggio said. “I don’t even have an adjective to describe him. He’s unbelievably great. I’m just glad he’s on Hahnville’s side.”
Mike Neal threw three touchdown passes, each to different receivers — Chandler Fremen, Devonte Cravin and Cade Miguez all hauled in scoring passes. Norquell Flowers and Drew Dunn each scored rushing touchdowns as well.
HHS (4-3) led 42-0 at halftime.
“We’re a good football team,” Saltaformaggio said. “I keep saying it. We got shellshocked in those three games (consecutive losses to Riverside, Destrehan and St. Thomas More). You know, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It doesn’t matter if you go 9-0 or 10-0 and you don’t advance in the playoffs.
“We’re back where we were last year at 4-3. We keep telling our kids, just keep doing the right things in practice and school. We’re getting better now.”
Not to be outshined, the Hahnville defense was on point as well. ESJ didn’t pick up a first down until there was less than a minute left in the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Stephen Cloud sacked ESJ quarterback Marquise Darensbourg two plays in a row, the second time forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jacob Plache.
From there, the rout was on, and the Tigers raced to victory.
Be the first to comment