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October 8, 2003
Hahnville KOs East St. John in OT Reynaud-less Tigers outscore Wildcats 55-49 to take district lead By Eric LeBlanc Not even two minutes into the first quarter against the East St. John Wildcats Friday night, all hopes seemed to be dashed for the Hahnville Tigers. Leading rusher and metro area leading scorer Darius Reynaud had gone down with an injury and never returned to the game. But even if some fans lost hope, the Tigers did not and fought tooth and nail with the Wildcats to come away with a 55-49 victory in overtime. In Reynaud’s absence, sophomore Terrance Isaac picked up the slack at running back, rushing for 101 yards on 17 carries. But the real hero of the game was quarterback Bryant Lee who threw for 217 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers spoiled a record setting performance by East St. John running back Derron Thomas who rushed for 375 yards and five touchdowns while catching four passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Reynaud opened the game with four runs totaling 45 yards before leaving the game on the fifth play from scrimmage. The Tigers then drove deep into Wildcat territory before fumbling. It was the play after that fumble that began Thomas’ spectacular night. He took the ball from the Wildcats 25-yard line and broke free on a 75-yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats up 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers almost immediately tied it up after Craig Turner returned the kick 72-yards to the Wildcat 23-yard line. But it did not take the Tigers long to score as three Isaac runs followed by a five-yard Turner touchdown run tied the score at seven. After Hahnville kicker Josh Montet put the Wildcats at their own 20-yard line with a touchback, Thomas broke out again with an 80-yard touchdown run to put East St. John ahead 14-7 with six minutes left in the first quarter. The next Hahnville possession would end in a fumble, but the Tigers would get the ball right back as defensive back Jesse Dunn intercepted a Ryan Perrilloux pass at the Wildcat 45-yard line. An 18-yard pass to tight end Brandon Bourg and a 26-yard run by Isaac put the Tigers at the one-yard line. And Lee brought it in himself on a keeper to tie the score at 14. Two possessions later, Tiger linebacker Brandon Sam blocked a Wildcat punt, recovered it and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown and the Tigers’ first lead of the night. After the extra point, the Tigers led 21-14 with eight and a half minutes left in the half. The Tiger lead was short-lived as Thomas struck again 29 seconds later with a 77-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 21. The Wildcats would score one more time in the first half on a 47-yard touchdown run by Thomas to put them ahead 28-21. The Tigers switched from a three-man defensive front in the first half to a five-man front in the second half. And doing that contained Thomas somewhat and forced the Wildcats to look for other ways to score. The first drive of the second half would prove successful for the Wildcats as they drove 62 yards on 10 plays. Perrilloux would finally put it in on a six-yard run to make the score 35-21 Wildcats. Hahnville responded quickly as they drove 74 yards on six plays to finally score on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Turner. That brought the Tigers within a touchdown with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The Wildcats would score again at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Thomas to take a seemingly insurmountable 42-28 lead. But the Tigers would not die. On their next drive, two Isaac runs and a 17-yard pass to Bourg put the Tigers across midfield. Then Turner turned out a 20-yard run to put the Tigers within the 20. And Lee would take it from there as he found wide receiver Christian Populis on a 18-yard touchdown reception to bring the Tigers within seven points at 42-35. The Tigers would then force the Wildcats to punt on their next possession and a 33-yard punt return by Brett Naquin gave the Tigers good field position at the Wildcats 27-yard line. After five plays, Turner brought the ball in on a 16-yard touchdown reception. A tie seemed eminent, but the extra point was missed leaving the Wildcats with the lead with three minutes left in the game. The Wildcats tried to take advantage of the situation but could not advance the ball and were forced to punt. And that gave the Tigers a chance to reclaim that point as Naquin returned the punt 52 yards for a touchdown. The two point conversion was successful on a keeper by Lee and the Tigers led 49-42. The Tigers seemed to have victory within their grasp twice on the Wildcats’ ensuing drive. The Wildcats converted two fourth downs and finally scored on a 10-yard Thomas reception with one second left. And after the extra point resulted in a bad snap, the Tiger victory seemed assured. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Hahnville gave East St. John new life and they made the extra point to put the game into overtime. With the score tied at 49, the Tigers went first in overtime. The first play was disastrous as Lee was sacked for a seven-yard loss. But a seven-yard reception to Populis gained it right back and another 10-yard reception to Populis put the Tigers into the endzone and on top again. But the extra point was blocked, leaving the Tigers with a 55-49 lead and leaving East St. John with an opportunity. But the Tiger defense stifled Perrilloux into two incompletions and a sack on the last play of the game to give the Tigers the win. Christian Populis led the Tigers in receiving with five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Craig Turner also shined, gaining 109 total yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Brandon Bourg caught five passes for 67 yards as well. Return man Brett Naquin had 106 total yards and a touchdown. With the victory, the Tigers improve to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in district. The Tigers will host the South Lafourche Tarpons this Friday at 7 p.m. Eric LeBlanc can be reached at EricL@heraldguide.com or at (985) 758-2795, ext. 219.
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