If recent history is an indicator, Friday night’s second round Class 5A playoff matchup between No. 8 seed Hahnville and No. 9 John Ehret could go down as something to remember.In each of the past two seasons, Hahnville has put together a pair of signature rallies in second round action under coach Nick Saltaformaggio. Last season, Hahnville trailed by two touchdowns in the first half against St. Amant before Mike Neal’s touchdown pass to Devonte Cravin just before halftime launched a second half surge en route to an eventual 55-33 victory. Two years ago, Hahnville trailed Haughton 14-13 with just over three minutes left before Peyton Robert’s fumble return for a score propelled the Tigers to an eventual 28-14 victory.
To reach the quarterfinals this time around, Hahnville (9-2) must defeat last season’s Class 5A runner-up, a Patriots (9-2) squad bringing one of the state’s most talented teams to Boutte. Ehret is coming off a dominant opening round performance, a 48-27 victory over Haughton.
“It should be a quality game. They’re big, physical and are going to challenge us. But that’s the way it should be in the second round of Class 5A,” Saltaformaggio said.
It’s not an unfamiliar opponent. The teams were competitors in this year’s spring game, and after a strong performance by Hahnville in that scrimmage, Saltaformaggio said he believed this Hahnville team could be the best of his three seasons with the school.
That said, he cautions to not put too much weight into that scrimmage now, as an Ehret team riding a five-game win streak comes to town.
“It was such a long time ago,” Saltaformaggio said. “You look back at film to see if they’re still doing the same things from a scheme standpoint, and they are, but with some different players. They lost (wide receiver) Jamaal Houston, an exceptional player, early in the season. They’ve shifted things around since then, but most of the rest of the team is intact.”
That includes Ehret quarterback Travis Mumphrey Jr., a 6’1 sophomore who has led Ehret to several big offensive performances this season. Mumphrey, Saltaformaggio said, is the player the Tigers must be most concerned with limiting if the team is to advance.
“Mumphrey is a very good player. We have to control him and make him uncomfortable,” Saltaformaggio said. “Then I think we’ll we’ll be fine, defensively, if we can do that.”
Ehret holds notable wins over Riverside and Chalmette and, like Hahnville, has found a groove over the second half of the season.
But Saltaformaggio noted that while Ehret has changed since the spring game, so has Hahnville. Quarterback Austin Perrin was only a few practices into his return to football after a year away. The Tigers bolstered their offensive line with the addition of Larry Dixon and receiver Jamel Byrd has made big strides since then.
Running backs Brandon Brown and Byron James power the Ehret rushing attack behind a big offensive line.
Defensively, defensive linemen Brandon Frazier and Earl Barquet are big and rangy, each standing at 6’3. In the secondary, Hahnville will have to be careful when it comes to challenging cornerback Terrell Bailey, a Tennessee commitment. Free safety Lorenzo White is another playmaker.
“This is a team with a lot of good defensive players,” Saltaformaggio said. “They’ve really built themselves around being a strong defensive football team.”
Saltaformaggio believes his team’s opening round 31-17 win over a quality Covington team will only serve to leave his team well-prepared for the game ahead.
“The past two seasons, we’ve won pretty convincingly in the first round. This year, a team the quality of Covington being seeded where they were is kind of an anomaly,” Saltaformaggio said. “We played a really, really good first round opponent. I think sometimes, when you get those early blowout games, it can give you a false sense of security. The Covington game, I think, reminds guys about the sense of urgency you need to have in the postseason.”
Hahnville’s Anthony Williams scored three touchdowns and hauled in 95 yards receiving for Hahnville in the win over Covington (5-6).
Hahnville led Covington 17-14 at halftime in what was a close, physical game throughout. Hahnville had scored 40 points or more in six straight games and Williams was fresh off a school record rushing performance of 355 yards, but this week was a defensive slugfest for much of the night.
Early in the second half, it was a big play generated through the passing game that created separation for Hahnville, with Austin Perrin finding Williams for a 46-yard touchdown that made it a 24-14 Hahnville lead. Covington (5-6) responded on Devin Jenkins’ 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter to make it a one-score game.
Two big plays by Tigers’ defensive back Rashad Domino short-circuited the Lions offense after it drove to the HHS 18. Domino sacked Covington quarterback Joshua Alfaro on second down to push Covington back, then intercepted the passer in the endzone with 5:42 remaining in the game.
All we needed was some momentum,” Domino said. “We were a bit down, they got a few big plays on us. I tried to do my part and I had to come up big for my team … to us, we feel like we need to get our offense the ball so we can try to score and win. As long as we do our part we’re good.”
Williams added a late touchdown run to push the game out of reach.
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