By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Hahnville Coach Lou Valdin knew that his team didn’t do itself any favors against Destrehan two weeks ago, with penalties and turnovers making it all but impossible to win against the now No. 2 ranked Wildcats.

So Hahnville worked on correcting that. And East Ascension paid the price for their success in doing so.

The Tigers got three rushing touchdowns from Jai Steib on their way to a 31-8 victory at East Ascension on Friday night.

Hahnville (4-2, 1-1) didn’t have a single turnover, a fact aided by the Tigers’ dominance on the ground. HHS rushed for 189 yards, to only 91 for the Spartans.

In Hahnville’s four wins this season, a strong ground game has been the constant. And when Hahnville controls the ball, its defense usually needs little else to dominate.

“We put lots of guys in the box, and outnumbered them,” said Hahnville Coach Lou Valdin. “It forced them to throw, since we stopped the running game with numbers. And once we forced them away from the run, we got real good pressure on the quarterback.”

That pressure forced the Spartans into three interceptions and only 77 yards passing.

Steib scored his first three touchdowns of the game in succession, scoring from 1-yard twice and then adding a 7-yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 21-0 in the first half.

Brandon Larousse’s 40-yard field goal made it 24-0. East Ascension’s defense would get the Spartans on the scoreboard via a safety, but Hahnville quarterback Guiseppe Crovetto would answer, scoring on a 1-yard run to cap the Tiger scoring.

Hahnville outgained East Ascension (1-5, 0-2) 256 to 168 in total offense.

Valdin said that a strong bounce-back performance was essential for his team.

“Obviously, we needed the win because we’re still fighting for a playoff berth,” he said. “More than that, we’re still in contention for a district title if we get a little help, and Destrehan loses along the way. It was a big win, especially to get one where we worked out the mistakes.”

He added that he felt his players realized that much of their troubles the week before could be attributed to themselves.

“Most of Destrehan’s points came off of our mistakes. I think they realized the importance of ball security,” he said. “We emphasized that in practice.”

Now, Hahnville prepares for a major clash at home with Dutchtown, which enters undefeated and coming off of a big win over East St. John.

“They’ve got outstanding running backs,” said Valdin. “They make them go. We’ve got to stop them for two reasons — one, they don’t like to throw. And two, we can’t let them control the clock.”