Archbishop Hannan upends previously unbeaten Episcopal to advance to Division III championship tilt

  

The scoreboard says it all signifying Archbishop Hannan's Hawks prevailing at home Friday night downing the No. 1 seed and previously unbeaten Episcopal Knights  12-7 in the Division III semifinal contest in the Lake 94.7 broadcast game of the week. Hannan will battle No. 2 seed Calvary Baptist for the Division III state crown Dec. 12 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

  

Senior two-way performer Jack Witte is pictured with his parents sharing a moment after the Hawks' semifinal victory.

Pictured from left, Hannan teammates Chris Hutton, Jason Brooks, Korey Zeigler, Nathan Fouquet, Zack Castelluccio, Jack Witte and Bruce DiMartino. The six players competed for the Southeast Louisiana Chargers and captured two National Tournament titles in 2008 and 2009, coached by Sean Zeigler

Running back Michael Froeba is all smiles sharing his posters with the Hawks' home crowd following Friday night's semifinal victory. Froeba rushed fro 144 yards on 27 carries.

The Archbishop Hannan Hawks football team continued to make school history and have earned the right to compete for a Division III LHSAA/State Farm Prep Classic championship under the new playoff format.
Archbishop Hannan, the No. 4 seed, squared off with the No. 1 seed and previously unbeaten Episcopal Knights with the Hawks coming away with a thrilling 12-7 home victory in the Division III semifinal contest Friday night in the Lake 94.7 broadcast game of the week. The Hawks' clutch victory propels them into the Division III championship tilt set for Thursday Dec. 12 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with a 12:30 kick off. Hannan, 11-2, squares off with No. 2 seed Calvary Baptist, who squeaked out a thrilling 34-33 semifinal victory over No. 6 seed Catholic of New Iberia.
Hawks' senior running back Michael Froeba, the benefactor of some quality offensive line blocking, rushed for 144 yards on 27 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per rush to help spark the Hawks' offense. Senior quarterback Korey Zeigler hooked up with Daniel Hollander on a 44-yard scoring strike and finished with 130 yards passing, clicking on 14-of-23 attempts. Hawks' place kicker Payton Hudson booted the extra point to put the Hawks up 7-0. Episcopal tied it on a three-yard scoring play by 1,000-yard rusher,  Clement "Boom Boom" Mubungirwa following Austin Couvillion's point after. The Hawks earned a safety when the ball was snapped over the Knights' punter's head attempting to punt out of the end zone. Hudson closed out the first half booting a 20-yard field goal on the half's final play, putting the Hawks up 12-7. The teams battled through a scoreless second half playing in frigid temperatures. Hannan's defense turned in a quality performance as defensive coordinator Bobby Scelfo's Hawks' defense executed a solid game plan, stopping a potent Episcopal offense, limiting the Knight's  to just 121 yards of total offense. Episcopal only generated 82 yards rushing and 39 yards through the air.
Bruce DiMartino secured nine tackles followed by Mason Caillouet, Griffin Hakenjos and Mitchell Morel with seven stops each. Zack Castelluccio contributed five tackles including one for a loss and returned two kickoffs, totaling 26 yards. Jack Witte and Connor Brooks added four tackles each.Hannan head coach Pat Lambert and members of the Hawks' squad will be joining us this Thursday night on Northshore Sports broadcasting from our title sponsor WOW Cafe, located in the Clarion Inn & Suites, on Highway 190 in Covington.