By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

 LAPLACE – Hahnville coach Lou Valdin said his Tigers team is the healthiest it has been all season. That comes at just the right time.

For the second straight year Hahnville pulled a first-round upset, besting Ouachita 42-25 in a Class 5A first round playoff game behind a monster night by tailback Lynn Simmons.

Simmons rushed 25 times for 208 yards and four touchdowns while quarterback Dylan Keller rushed for more than 100 yards.

For Keller, it was the second full game back after a shoulder injury sidelined the senior quarterback for most of the season.

“We dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” said Hahnville coach Lou Valdin. “Getting Keller back is huge because it allows us to run the option again. Now if teams load the box, they have to account for him with two guys. It’s two less that we have to block and we can option off of it.”

Hahnville is set to host Barbe in the second round next week, the latter a 42-16 first round winner over Tigers’ district foe South Lafourche.

Hahnville (6-5) led 28-13 at halftime.

The Tigers were able to generate a pass rush with just three lineman late in the game, highlighted by Ricky Davis coming up with three sacks in a row down the stretch.

Early on, Hahnville looked to take away the lifeblood of the Ouachita offense: the running game.

“They want to run, run, run,” said Valdin. “We were fortunate enough to jump out on them. They don’t like throwing the ball. Then once we got a lead, we were able to get into our nickel and dime and actually force them to run the ball.”

Before falling to Hahnville, Ouachita’s only losses were to powers Evangel, Neville and West Monroe.

Nigel Dora led the Lions (7-4) with 26 carries for 181 yards and three touchdowns.