After a season-opening overtime loss to South Plaquemines Monday night, Hahnville was in desperate need of a rebound performance – and only had three days to prepare for it.
It was enough.
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Senior running back Jai Steib led the way for the Tigers (1-1). He carried the ball 25 times for 110 yards and three touchdowns as Hahnville kept the ball on the ground, only electing to pass four times on the night.
While the turnaround from Monday night left HHS Coach Lou Valdin little time to prepare, he said Helen Cox’s similarity in schemes to South Plaquemines gave the Tigers a leg up entering the week.
“They’ve got a lot of similarities, so it was really like we were preparing to play against both teams,” said Valdin. “We were fortunate in that.”
Valdin added that although the contest was only Hahnville’s second of the year, it had added importance given the Tigers’ hurricane-shortened schedule.
“You hate to think you’re entering a must-win game this early. But we approached this as a playoff game. You don’t want to ever go 0-2, especially when we’re playing less games this year.”
The Cougars (1-1) outgained Hahnville in total yardage, 268-189, but never led after the second quarter.
Helen Cox quarterback Darius Carey rushed for 112 yards and passed for 133 to lead the Cougar attack. But Hahnville intercepted Carey three times, a big reason why the Tigers were able to hold on to the lead.
Carey’s 74-yard rushing score in the first quarter gave Helen Cox a 6-3 lead.
But Hahnville answered in the second quarter when Steib scored on a 10-yard run to give Hahnville a 10-6 lead.
A 4-yard scoring run by the Cougars’ Kevin Williams gave the momentary advantage back to Helen Cox, but Steib’s second score of the half came right before halftime, a 2-yard score that was followed by a two-point conversion pass from Guiseppe Crovetto to Jared Harrell that made it 18-12 in favor of the Tigers.
Steib would add another score in the third quarter, a 6-yard run set up by a Cougar turnover deep in its own territory.
Valdin said that the difference in his team from Monday to Friday night was its basic ability to run the football.
“We were able to run it well and keep their offense off the field,” he said. “That kept our defense fresh. It was really the difference.”
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