Archbishop Hannan’s Hawks are on the road this week to finally get their season under way after the distractions of Hurricane Gustav.

The Hawks travel to New Roads to take on the Catholic High of Pointe Coupee Hornets. Hannan was originally scheduled to play East Iberville on Friday, but that game had to be cancelled.

Hannan and Catholic High met back at the end of July in a 7-on-7 competition held at LSU. Templet said Catholic High won by a score of 21-14.

Lewis

Hannan second-year coach George Templet described the Hornets as a good club, which runs a spread offense, operating out of the shotgun.

“They have some talented skill players with pretty good speed. They are solid up front on the offensive line,” Templet said.

“They run a 3-5-3 defense. They like to blitz and put pressure on their opponents. They make me nervous with the amount of defensive pressure that they bring,” Templet added.

The Hawks were able to get their first practice in on Monday afternoon following Hurricane Gustav.

“The practice was a little sluggish, which was to be expected after missing so much time due to the storm.”

Hannan will be without the services of two of its senior two-way starting performers. Running back/ defensive back Ethan Lopinto is out of the lineup, nursing an injured quadracep, and offensive tackle/defensive end Perry Degelos is out with a partially torn MCL.

Templet said his junior quarterback Andrew Arceneaux will run the pistol and spread formation.

“Andrew is feeling a lot more confident. The more comfortable he feels, the better we’ll be able to move the ball. He is doing a better job of reading defenses,” Templet said.

Hannan split its two games in the Livonia Jamboree topping Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School from Canada, 7-2. Arceneaux hit Adam Lewis for a 62-scoring pass and Michael Tiziani tacked on the extra point. The Hawks fell to the host Livonia Wildcats, 21-0, to close out the jamboree.

Catholic High of Pointe Coupee finished 8-3 last year, losing in the regional round of the playoffs. First-year coach William Parkerson said both teams have exchanged film of their jamborees.

“Their quarterback (Arceneaux) appears to be their best athlete. Our goal will be to contain him,” Parkerson said.

Parkerson said he has a number of players who go both ways.

Junior quarterback David Lorio (5-10, 180) is the Hornets’ starter with senior running back/linebacker George Early (5-10, 200) returning.

Three returning seniors Austin Jewell receiver/cornerback (5-11, 160), senior receiver/free safety Dylan Miller (5-8, 160) junior receiver/defensive end Dilen Guidry (6-3, 215) are in the mix, going both ways.

Senior linebacker Justin Belone (6-0, 190) and junior linebacker Brett Thompson (6-1, 220) lead the Hornets’ defense.