By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Hahnville had to wait a month last season to notch its first victory. This year, the Tigers wasted no time in finding the win column — and they’re banking a marquee victory, at that.

HHS went on the road to Spartan Stadium and bested Salmen, the No. 3 ranked team in Class 4A, 13-7.

“We played great defense tonight,” said Hahnville coach Lou Valdin. “We were really outstanding defensively. Offensively, we ran the ball well, but we missed on a few redzone opportunities. They got one touchdown, and it came after we fumbled deep in our own territory. Basically, the defense pitched a shutout. I can’t say enough about the job they did.”

Quarterback Dylan Keller gave Hahnville a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 3-yard rushing score that capped a 58-yard drive.

That lead stood until halftime. HHS went ahead 13-0, extending the lead on another short Keller rushing touchdown. He finished with 78 rushing yards on the night. He returned to the game after leaving late in the first half with an injury.

Lynn Simmons led Hahnville in rushing with 86 yards.

Hahnville rushed for 250 yards of its 278 yards of total offense. Salmen gained just 61 yards of total offense.

Valdin said the gameplan was to take away the run, given that Salmen was without usual starting quarterback Ray Crochet, who missed the game after breaking his hand in last week’s jamboree. Ivan Price started in his stead.

“He’s a very good athlete,” said Valdin of Price. “We had to adjust some things since we were concerned about him running, where we didn’t have to before. I thought, team wide, everyone did their jobs to close down those running lanes.”

As far as ways to kickstart a season go, Valdin said this is a pretty nice one.

“”It’s big. To go on the road, at Salmen, it’s a big, big win for us. It’s a big confidence boost for our team and it gives us a lot of momentum going into next week, when we’ve got the defending champs (Rummel) coming right at us.”

 

 

DUTCHTOWN 24, LUTCHER 7 —

DUTCHTOWN 24, LUTCHER 7—Dutchtown scored late in the first half to break a 7-7 deadlock, and the Griffins never looked back as they captured a 24-7 win.

Lutcher’s lone touchdown came on a first half pass from Christian Matherne to Sully Martin from 2-yards away.

That gave LHS a 7-0 lead, but Kajuan Coleman’s 13-yard touchdown run tied things up with 10 minutes left in the first half.

With five minutes to go before halftime, Torrance Mosely ran for a 3-yard score to make it 14-7, and with a minute left before half, Taylor Fetters hit a 28-yard field goal attempt to make it a 10-point Lutcher advantage.

Coleman’s third quarter scoring run of seven yards rounded out the final score.

Dutchtown’s defense gave the usually high-powered Lutcher offense fits, holding the Bulldogs to just 234 yards of offense. Lutcher forced four Griffin turnovers—while committing two of its own—but went 2-for-11 on third down, negating any kind of sustained offensive effort.

In his first start as Lutcher quarterback, Christian Matherne went 14 fpr 21 fpr 114 yards and a touchdown pass. He also rushed 14 times for 48 yards. Sully Martin was his favorite target, hauling in seven catches for 75 yards.

Mosley rushed 19 times for 110 yards for Dutchtown, while Coleman carried 14 times for 100 yards. Cameron Joshua hauled in two receptions for 97 yards.