Isaac scores three times, rushes for 173 in 25-6 win

BY KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

HAHNVILLE — When coaches try to get their kids prepared for a big game, they like to talk about “coming ready to play.”

That might have been the understatement of the year for the Hahnville Tigers on Friday night here on their home field.

Facing the Thibodaux Tigers in a showdown of the top two teams from district 6-5A, Hahnville was incredibly dominating in the first half to lead the way to a solid 25-6 victory.

The win for the undefeated, defending state 5A champion Tigers from Hahnville clinched the league championship with a sparkling 9-0 record, to go with their 8-0 league mark.

The vaunted Hahnville defense played at a world class level for prep teams in the first half, holding Thibodaux to a minus-one yard rushing and only 24 yards passing, to go with only one first down.

Even though Thibodaux kept things at 0-0 for a quarter, Hahnville exploded for 25 points in the second period to take charge of the game for good.

With that kind of domination in the first two quarters, it was understandably difficult for Hahnville to keep up that level of intensity in the second half, as they let up offensively for a period before clamping down in the stretch run.

“We knew this was a bigger game for them since we were in first place, so we just came out and played physical ball the first half,” standout defensive lineman Rashad Roussel, a 6-2, 270-pound senior said. “We knew we could win if we played our best, and now that our offense is coming on like the defense, we know we can win another state title.”

Thibodaux gave the Hahnville faithful a moment of pause in the third quarter when they used a big play passing game to get on the board with 7:24 to go in the period. Quarterback Zach Chauvin hooked up with wide receiver Edward Morgan for the 45 yard TD strike to make it a 25-6 game.

But that score only seemed to be the spark Hahnville needed to take control from then until the end of the game.

The Tiger defense finished the contest by giving up only 27 yards rushing and five first downs in the game.

Standouts on the defensive side of the ball all with the hard hitting Roussel were senior lineman Chris Lanaux, senior lineman Greg Diggs, junior lineman Kentrell Lockett, junior defensive back Kemon Jacobs, junior defensive back Bryan Singleton, junior defensive back Ryne Madere, junior linebacker Cory Hawkins, senior linebacker Derek Dempster and senior defensive back Jesse Dunn.

After Thibodaux managed to keep the Hahnville offense out of the endzone in the first quarter, that ended in a hurry by the second period.

Behind the explosive running of 175-pound junior back Terrance Isaac, along with key passes from senior quarterback Bryant Lee, the Tigers manhandled the visiting Tigers throughout the quarter.

Isaac finished the game with 173 yards rushing on 35 carries, going for three TDs, while junior running back Darwin Washington added 42 yards. Even junior runner Jeremy Barnes showed some outstanding flashes of talent in some second half chances, finishing with three good runs, including a 14 and 7 yard scamper.

But the key to the solid running game obviously came from the powerful work up front.

Offensive linemen Joshua Baudoin, Delmus Stewart, Matt Matherne, Kevin Maddox and Sam Finn blasted some big slots for the runners to get through, and won the game up front where it counts.

“Coach had us work hard on the sled all week and that really paid off,” senior Baudoin said. “We really thought we could dominate them up front and we worked hard to do it.

“Now we can focus on winning state again, and if we keep playing at this tempo, we can do it,” he added.

Hahnville broke the game open with the huge 25 point showing in the second period.

Isaac scored the first of three TD’s with 10:07 on the clock on a one yard run, then after the Tigers took a short punt from Thibodaux at their own 45, they marched 55 yards in six plays, with Isaac scoring from seven yards out this time. With 7:22 on the clock it was 12-0 after another failed PAT.

The defense again forced a three and out from Thibodaux, giving Hahnville the ball on their own 46, this time moving the distance in only six plays. Lee had a big pass play of 22 yards to Early James and Washington had the other big play of 15 yards on the ground, giving Lee the chance to score from three yards out with 2:27 on the clock for an 18-0 lead.

That seemed like it would be enough for the half, but the Tigers weren’t content. They held Thibodaux on a fourth down play near midfield, took the ball over and zipped to a fourth TD with only eight seconds on the clock.

This time it was a halfback pass from Singleton to Gerren Stipe for 15 yards, then Lee to Washington on a 24 yard pass play to spark things. Isaac got his third TD for the 25-0 lead that was good enough to take command for the night.