By GEORGE MAHL

Simply put, it was incredible. The excitement, the drama, and the fans made for one heck of a game Friday between Hahnville and Destrehan high schools.

It seemed as if at times it was difficult to tell which team was the home team. Both sides of Tiger Stadium were full.

Each team’s fans arrived extremely early. Almost as if it was going to be the final game played between the two rivals. Right away, I knew it was going to be a gigantic sports spectacle.

I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic as soon as I got off Interstate 310. Parking was not a pretty sight. Due to parts of the school grounds being wet, many folks had to park far away.

I did not care where I parked. The “Super Bowl” of the River Parishes had a championship-type atmosphere. All of the area TV stations were there doing live shots. One sheriff’s deputy told me they stopped allowing cars to turn onto the main road to the school at 4:30 p.m, more than two hours before kickoff.

I overheard one deputy tell another, “This is going to be huge,” as he referred to the size of the crowd.

The tailgating was incredible. I have never been to a high school football game with that much tailgating. “Go Tigers” and “Go Cats” were phrases I heard for most of my walk to the stadium.

As a graduate of Rummel High School, I remember going to several Rummel-Jesuit games. But I did not remember the level of excitement and enthusiasm apparent outside and inside Tiger Stadium.

I had never covered a really big River Parishes game before. It seemed as if the crowd just kept filing in. Hahnville High School officials set up a couple of bleachers on the track for fans to sit. But, fans did not care where they sat. They just wanted to get in.

I chatted with a few fans before the game and they informed me big crowds were nothing new to the rivalry. After both teams battled back and forth for 48 minutes, I think some fans, even on the HHS side thought it was a shame one team had to lose.

After the game, HHS head coach Lou Valdin told me he was proud of three things. First, he was glad his kids played hard. Second, his team claimed the victory, and third, DHS running back Fred Smith is a senior.

Finally, even though the Tigers won and Destrehan lost, the real winners were the fans who witnessed a colossal contest between two local heavyweights.

GEORGE MAHL is a staff reporter whose primary responsibility is sports.