Archbishop Hannan looks to catch lightning in a bottle against De La Salle

The Biblical passage pertaining to The Almighty is applicable for those of faith and for a pair of faith-based institutions.

Eighth-seed Archbishop Hannan and head coach Scott Wattigny are embracing the concept heading into their Friday night Division II quarterfinal battle with top-seeded De La Salle at Pan American Stadium. You can listen to the game as part of Ken Trahan’s Original Prep Football Report on WGSO, 990 AM and at WGSO.com.

The Hawks (9-2) are coming off of an impressive 35-20 victory over ninth-seeded Vandebilt Catholic in the opening round of the playoffs while De La Salle (9-0) had a bye.

“This has been an excellent season to this point,” Wattigny said. “I couldn’t be more proud of all associated with the program. Everyone has done a really good job this season. Within house, it wasn’t as much of a surprise to us. Last year was not really an indication of the progress we were making. We were 4-6 but four of those losses were by a total of 18 points.”

While expectations were perhaps low around the state for the Hawks, it never affected those inside of the program.

“People kind of lost hope on us,” Wattigny said. “We had a great year in 2013 but not otherwise. We were determined to prove that it was not the same old, same old. We knew we made progress last year and it has shown this year. We always believed we would be a good football team this year.”

Hannan is led by senior quarterback Chris Rabensteiner, who shines on the field and in the classroom. Rabensteiner has thrown for 615 yards and three touchdowns and has rushed for 1,107 yards and 19 scores.

“Chris Rabensteiner is one of the leading rushers in the metro area,” Wattigny said. “He’s a winner, humble and very smart. He’s a great teammate. He plays the game you would want every player to play. Seth Caillouet has been special. We use him all over the field. He plays in every aspect of our team, including kicking. He does everything for us and he is playing more defense now as well.”

Caillouet has 20 catches for 271 yards and a touchdown. He has rushed for 197 yards and five touchdowns. He starts at defensive tackle and has made 6-of-7 field goals.

“We are using our best players on both sides of the football,” Wattigny said. “We gravitated to that by playoff time. Our offensive line has been very good. Christian Haas has been very good. Brendan David is close to 1,000 yards rushing. We are more than just one player as a threat. We are multiple offensively. Our receivers have done a good job and they block well on the perimeter.”

David has rushed for 784 yards and two touchdowns.

Wattigny knows what he and his team are facing Friday night.

“De La Salle deserves all of the credit and recognition they have gotten,” Wattigny. “They are as good as anyone in the state in any classification. They are balanced. Everything runs through Gums. He is special. It is key for us to slow him down. No one has stopped him. We cannot pitch a perfect game. We just have to slow him down.”

Wattigny is bullish on his defense.

“Our defense has proven that is can perform despite being undersized. We play with 11 hats to the ball. We’re not the biggest or strongest but we will compete as a team and that is huge for us. We know this will be a tough time. You don’t beat Karr, Riverside, St. Aug and St. Charles Catholic in the same year unless you are a special team.”

Despite the long odds, the Hawks believe they have a chance to win.

“The way we play defense will give us a chance,” Wattigny said. “That’s what we’ve done this whole year. The kids believe they can win. The intent is to win this week. We understand they are bigger and faster and the favorite. We are not about moral victories. It is all about accepting the huge challenge. That’s the message we have conveyed to them. We believe in catching lightning in a bottle.”

The Cavaliers have roared to nine wins as one of the most impressive teams, if not the most impressive team in Louisiana in any classification. De La Salle has averaged winning its games by a margin of 32.9 points per game, dominating everyone but Karr. The Cavaliers surprised the defending 4A state champion Cougars, winning 28-26 for Karr’s only loss of the season. The Cougars are the top-seed in the Class 4A state playoffs.

While many teams enjoy the concept of a bye and healing, De La Salle coach Ryan Manale has a different take.

“I would much rather to have played last week to stay consistent,” Manale said. “Injuries can still happen in practice and we were playing well. We took the week to look at ourselves to see what we can improve.”

The Cavaliers are led by senior quarterback and Nicholls commit Julien Gums, who has rushed 86 times for 865 yards and 11 touchdowns while he has completed 56-of-79 passes (71%) for 933 yards and 12 touchdowns with just one interception.

“As I tell next level coaches and other coaches, Julien has the ‘it’ factor,” Manale said. “He’s phenomenal on the field and he’s just as good, if not better off the field. He’s a great runner and throws well when we ask him to throw. He is a winner. I cannot wait to see how he finishes out his senior year.”

Junior running back Kendall Collins has rushed 115 times for 759 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Ryan Hamrick has 55 carries for 446 yards and six touchdowns. B.J. Randle, Ahmad Munoz and Aaron Marquez have combined for 10 touchdown receptions.

Manale has a lot of respect for Hannan.

“They remind me of Jesuit teams in the past,” Manale said. “Sometimes, you look at them across the field and aren’t so impressed and there they are with a chance to win and winning games. They don’t lack talent up front and they have guys that play extremely hard. I’m expecting their best performance of the year. It should be fun. They are good on special teams.”

Manale knows that you cannot take winning for granted and he is not. As a top-seed last year, the Cavaliers saw their season come to an abrupt end with a 34-14 home loss to Parkview Baptist in the Division II semifinals.

“Every year, you see players looking around crying with their mouths open and shocked, having gotten upset at home,” Manale said. “We need to take every opponent, including a very good Hannan team very seriously. We just need to play De La Salle football.”