REPLAY: Hahnville stops two-point try in OT for 42-41 victory over Mandeville

BOUTTE – A game featuring two offenses moving up and down the field came down to one final snap of the football.

The last play went Hahnville’s way as Mandeville failed on a two-point conversion attempt in the first overtime, allowing the Tigers to walk away with a 42-41 victory Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

The game was broadcast live by Crescent City Sports.

After an 11-yard pass from Cooper DesRoches to Nate Sheppard – Sheppard’s sixth touchdown of the night – pulled Mandeville within a point, first-year Skippers head coach Craig Jones held up two fingers right away.

He was going for the win.

“I’ve pretty much always made the decision we’re going to go for two in overtime,” said Jones, who returned to his alma mater in the spring after seven seasons at Lakeshore. “We’re going to be aggressive.”

With Sheppard lined up wide left and an empty backfield, DesRoches appeared to be running a quarterback draw before stopping and lofting a jump pass toward an open Nick Pettavino in the back of the end zone, but they couldn’t connect and the home sideline celebrated.

After the teams ended regulation tied at 35-all, Hahnville took the lead on Calvin Smith’s 10-yard run on the first play of overtime.

The teams combined for 985 total yards, but got it done in different ways. Mandeville had 404 yards passing and 117 rushing, while Hahnville had 327 yards on the ground – with five different runners gaining 35 or more yards – and 132 in the air.

“We tried to establish the run early,” Hahnville coach Daniel Luquet. “Everybody we had carried the football, we threw it, but our offensive line played really well.”

Hahnville led 7-6 with it got the ball back via punt with 4:08 left in the first half. That’s when the tenor of the game changed, as the teams combined to score 27 points over the rest of the half, with no scoring drive taking longer than 78 seconds.

Josh Joseph’s 13-yard TD run extended the Tiger lead to 14-6 with 3:10 remaining in the half. Four plays later, the Skippers answered on a 53-yard pass from DesRoches to Sheppard with 1:52 left.

It took only 48 seconds for Hahnville to answer with a four-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard run from quarterback Ryan Gregson with 1:04 remaining in the half. Mandeville’s response took 51 seconds, and it again was DesRoches connecting with Sheppard on a 29-yard pass with 13 ticks remaining as the Skippers pulled within 21-19 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the visitors, who got a pair of quick stops and two touchdowns from Sheppard – on a 14-yard run and a 42-yard reception, to stretch the lead to 32-21 entering the fourth quarter.

Joseph provided a fourth-quarter spark for Hahnville with a 7-yard touchdown run on the second play of the quarter and a 42-yard score on the first play after a Tiger fumble recovery to give Hahnville a 35-32 lead with 9:58 left.

The final points of regulation came on a Creighton Wilbanks 33-yard field goal with 8:17 remaining.

Hahnville drove to the Mandeville 19 before the Skippers got a stop on downs with 2:17 to play. Mandeville got a first down at the Tiger 23 with five second to play and tried to rush on its field goal team for a potential game-winner, but could not get the kick away in time.

Gregson – who was thrust into a starting role two weeks ago after an injury to Donovan Friloux –  accounted for 152 yards, 107 passing and 45 rushing. His support was balanced, with Smith rushing for 89 yards, Joseph 83 and Chase Brooks 50.

On the other side, the numbers were eye-popping. DesRoches completed 21 of 27 passes for 404 yards, while Sheppard accounted for 256 – 118 rushing and 138 receiving – in his six-touchdown effort.

“It’s a shame somebody had to lose,” Jones said. “That was a great high school football game.”

Said Luquet: “I’ve got a young team that’s growing right before our eyes. We’re going to continue to keep working and get after it.”