Hanson Memorial Tigers roll over Jeanerette Tigers

Jeff Soulis rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns and Royce Norton caught a pair of touchdown passes lifting the Hanson Memorial Tigers to a thrilling 26-6 season opening victory over the Jeanerette Tigers Thursday at McCloskey Field.
Hanson (1-0) built up a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter when Norton hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from Bo Barrilleaux. The Tigers later added a pair of touchdown runs by Soulis to forge ahead by an insurmountable 26-6 margin.
Jeanerette (0-1) scored in lone touchdown on a 71-yard reception by Dillon Lively from Tyreke Batiste.
Hanson broke open a scoreless tie when quarterback Bo Barrilleaux tossed a perfectly place pass in the waiting hands of wide receiver Royce Norton in the end zone with 5:58 remaining in the opening quarter, giving HMS a 6-0 advantage.
After Cameron Stovall recovered a Jeanerette fumble, Hanson wasted little time in taking a 14-0 lead.
On second and goal from the 11, Norton made good on his second TD reception, hauling in a 10-yard spiral from Barrilleaux to give the Tigers a 12-0 lead with 4:43 blinking on the clock. Norton finished the night with five catches for 59 yards and a pair of TDs. Soulis made good on the two-point conversion and the Tigers sailed out front by a score of 14-0.
Jeanerette’s Dillon Lively caught a 71-yard TD from Batiste with 2:44 showing in the first quarter, helping JHS trim Hanson’s lead to 14-6.
Hanson runningback Soulis proved unstoppable on the night as he rushed 30 times for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Soulis, who had touchdown runs of 2 and 4 yards, peeled off huge gains of 39 and 30 yards on the night.
Soulis scored the first of touchdowns in the second quarter on a two-yard plunge after Brandon Bonin set up the score by recovering a muffed punt.
Bonin gave the Hanson Tigers great field position when he pounced on a muffed punt at the Jeanerette 24.
Hanson went on a five-play, 24-yard scoring drive which culminated in Soulis’ first TD with 3:27 left prior to halftime.
The HMS Tigers started the scoring drive with Soulis plowing 2 and 3 yards on successive dives. A short time later, Barrilleaux hooked up with Jacob Stewart for a first down gain of 10 yards. Barrilleaux went back to Norton on the next play for a gain of nine yards, setting up a first-and-goal at the one.
Soulis hit paydirt from the one, sending the Hanson Tigers ahead by a 20-6 margin with 3:27 showing on the clock.
Later in the fourth quarter, Soulis tallied his second touchdown on a four-yard run, giving Hanson a 26-6 victory.
Soulis finished with a game-high 170 yards on 30 attempts and two touchdowns. Luke Rodriguez ran one time for three yards while Bo Barrilleaux ran three times for 2 yards.
Elton Alexander led the Jeanerette Tigers with five carries for 33 yards while Ahmad Mitchell rushed four times for 11 yards and Darrien Kiel had three carries for 11 yards.
Hanson’s Bo Barrilleaux completed eight of 14 passes for 69 yards and two scores. Tyrese Batiste connected on three of eight passes for 84 yards and one TD.
Hanson’s Royce Norton caught five passes for 59 yards and two scores while Jacob Stewart finished with two catches for 13 yards. Lively had one catch for 71 yards and one score while Paul Richard had one catch for eight yards and Shannon William made one grab for six yards.
Hanson (1-0) will travel to play Catholic-Point Coupee next Friday at 7 p.m.