HAHNVILLE, O.P. WALKER PREPARE FOR SHOOTOUT

“It’d be a tremendous win,” Valdin said. “Walker is going to win a lot of football games this year. It’s a chance to pick up a bunch of power points.”

For Skip Lamothe, O.P. Walker will rely on its defensive front to give the Chargers a chance. The question for opponents is what do you do: double team Todd Toliver or double team Anthony Johnson?

One thing is for sure, neither really works. For most of the season, Lamothe said teams have gone for Toliver, leaving Johnson, a freshman, to go one-on-one.

And so far, that’s been to the Chargers’ advantage.

“(Johnson) had 4½ sacks last week. He leads us with 8½,” Lamothe said.

But it’s not just those two. “Our entire defensive line has been playing good,” Lamothe said. “We have something like 20 sacks on the season. If we can get them to play like they’ve been playing, and I’m expecting them to, we should do pretty good.”

Valdin said for Hahnville to have a chance, it’ll have to play mistake-free football, a no-brainer when you’re on the road in a hostile environment.

“When you’re on the road, you want to try to control the clock,” Valdin said. “You’ve got to be able to run the football and keep their good offensive players off the field.”

Chalmette (2-1) at Belle Chasse (3-0) 7 p.m.
Chalmette is coming off a 42-0 drubbing by Holy Cross. Belle Chasse head coach Robert Becnel isn’t expecting a similar performance by the Owls.

“I’m very wary,” Becnel said. “They played extremely well and some things happened to them in the second half. We saw them in the jamboree, and from the jamboree until now, they’ve vastly improved.”

For Belle Chasse to remain undefeated, Becnel said the Cardinals are going to have to keep the tempo of the game high. Chalmette likes a slow, methodical game, he said.

“We play very fast on offense,” he said.

But this game is extremely important for the Cardinals. They’re one of four undefeated teams in Class 4A, District 8. Morgan City (3-0), Shaw (4-0) and Vandebilt (3-0) are the other three.

“It’s crucial,” Becnel said. “They’re a 5A team. So, we get extra points for playing them. It all adds up at the end. Every point counts and every game is important.”

The key tonight, Becnel said, is to take care of careless penalties. Belle Chasse has committed 30 so far this year, averaging 10 per game. In close contests, that can hurt.

“We’ve got to do a better job of not hurting ourselves,” he said.

Blake Matherne leads Belle Chasse at quarterback, completing 33 of 64 pass attempts for 460 yards and eight touchdowns. Justin Usey is his main target, catching nine passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns.

Saturday
John Curtis (3-0) at Longview, Texas (1-1), FSN 11 a.m.
John Curtis is going regional again. This time, instead of playing a powerhouse from Alabama, the Patriots go to the Lonestar star for a test against a Texas power. And that game a year ago against Hoover will only help Curtis this year.

“I think what it does, it’s not a new experience for you,” head coach J.T. Curtis said. “The kids have through all the stuff that goes on with national television. The delay of game. Waiting for commercials. That part of it will be helpful. It won’t throw you off quite as much in a nationally televised game.”

While Curtis’ veer offense has been as steady as ever this year, the defense will be called upon Saturday to continue its strong play. Curtis is leery of what Longview brings to the table.

“They’ve got 20 seniors that start,” Curtis said. “They’re a veteran group back from last year. The Quarterback has some skill. Their leading rusher moved to defense, so that’ll give you an idea of that guy they had coming in.”

The defense will have to play better than it did in the second half against Salmen when the unit gave up 12 points to make the game close.

But Curtis said part of that was his team’s youth, while part of it was how well Salmen played after halftime.

“It’s a team that has to learn to play through four quarters of football and not relax mentally,” Curtis said. “It’d be a mistake not to give Salmen credit. Their skill players really played well in the second half.”