By ROBERT B. ROAN

“Purple Haze all around,
don’t know if I’m coming up or down.
Am I happy or in misery?”
– Jimmy Hendrix

BOUTTE – After a night of being consistently harassed and pummeled by Hahnville High School’s “Purple Haze” defense, diminutive Airline High School senior quarterback Anthony Moss could certainly commiserate with the poetic author of the aforementioned lyrics.

Moss, who stands five feet, seven inches tall and reminds his Bossier City fans of Doug Flutie, led the AHS Vikings with 133 yards rushing in the Nov. 15 opening round playoff game against the Covington High School Lions. But on Friday night, he faced a different form of cat.

The HHS Tigers, 11-1, got off to a slow start in front of an enthusiastic home crowd but after slamming the door on a fourth-down-and-inches plunge in the second quarter by AHS senior fullback Bud Owens the purple-clad warriors quickly took over both sides of the scrimmage line.

HHS seniors Laron Landry, QB/DB and Lionel Evans, RB, ran over and around the Vikings’ defense, which held Covington High to 92 yards of total offense the week before, with the momentum of the contest turning in the middle of the second quarter.

With a little over six minutes remaining in the first half, the Tigers took over at the AHS 38-yard line. Landry connected with Evans on a 21-yard pass play and junior running back Craig Turner took the subsequent play for an eight-yard gain over the left side. Utilizing his blockers, Evans then broke over the right side of the line for 10 yards to bring the Tigers into the field goal range of senior place kicker Alex Romero, who hit a 30-yard FG to give his team the lead at 3-0.

Less than two minutes elapsed and the Tigers were again on the scoreboard. Landry led the troops on an 83-yard drive, which included brilliant runs by Evans, Turner and junior running back Darius Reynaud, who finished off the drive with a 25-yard burst over the left tackle to give HHS a 10-0 lead going into halftime.

The tide of the contest swamped the visiting Vikings as the second half dawned and the Tigers instituted a no-huddle offensive scheme. With 2:05 to go in the third quarter and following a AHS punt, the Tigers began a back-breaking drive on their own 46-yard line. Landry scrambled out of the pocket for 24 yards, and following a 15-yard penalty assessed against the Vikings for a late hit out of bounds, Turner burst up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run. The Romero PAT was good and the score was 17-0.

A little less than one minute expired in the final stanza and the Vikings, 9-3, lit up their side of the scoreboard, after a lob pass from Moss to senior wide receiver Ben Bailey in the corner of the endzone.

But gridiron strategy backfired against the visitors as the subsequent on-side kick was recovered by HHS sophomore linebacker Christopher Lanaux, which provided the Tigers with excellent field position at their own 47-yard line. Back-to-back stalled drives from the opposing squads gave HHS the ball back with 8:05 to go in the fourth quarter at their own 37-yard line.

Aided by two 15-yard personal foul penalties levied against AHS, the Tigers drove 63 yards for a touchdown, a one-yard dive from Evans, and a 24-7 lead. HHS sophomore defensive tackle Rashad Roussel blocked an ill-advised Vikings’ punt with 5:09 to go in the game and the Tigers methodically drove down the field for another touchdown, a one-yard quarterback sneak executed by Landry.

In what was a fitting birthday present for HHS head coach Lou Valdin, the “Purple Haze” defense, led by Josh Austin, Roussel, Leroy Davis, Lanaux, Daron Friloux and Landry, smothered the nordic-themed visitors and sent the Vikings back to Bossier City on a smoldering funeral boat.