Archbishop Hannan drops LHSAA Division III championship game to Cavalry Baptist

The No. 4 seed Archbishop Hannan had its miraculous season come to a close yesterday afternoon as the Hawks ran into a highly synchronized machine falling to the Cavalry Baptist Cavaliers 62-7 in the LHSAA/State Farm Prep Classic Division III championship game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Hannan fourth-year head coach Pat Lambert said you have to give Calvary Baptist and their coaching staff all the credit. They are a tremendous ball club and deserved the victory. When asked what his 14 Hannan Hawks' seniors meant, he responded, "They will be sorely missed, but never forgotten as they have helped establish a winning program with lots of tradition," Lambert added. The Hawks finish the year with an impressive 11-3 record as they moved up in classification this season. Calvary Baptist, the Division III state champions under the newly designed LHSAA playoff format, coached by John Bachman, Sr. in his third season, finished the year at 9-4 and literally had everything go their way from the opening whistle. The Cavaliers dominated play in all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams. Junior tailback Orlando Bradford motored and maneuvered his way through the Hawks' defense gaining 227 yards on 16 carries  to four touchdowns as the Hawks' defense had no answer for trying to stop him. Sophomore
quarterback Shea Patterson, who finished the season with 34 touchdown passes, engineered the Cavalry Baptist offense, hitting on 13-of-19 passes for 285 yards with three TD tosses. The Cavaliers earning their first ever school championship in football rolled to 578 yards of total offense, while they held Archbishop Hannan to just 221 yards well below the Hawks'  productive season average. Hannan finally managed to get on the board with senior signal caller Korey Zeigler, a starter since the eighth grade, made his way into the end zone on a five-yard scamper with 2:23 remaining in the game. Zeigler, who was pressured throughout the contest, finished 12-of-25 for 113 yards with an interception and was sacked four times. Senior running back Michael Froeba, a 1,000-yard rusher with 15 TDs, capped off his amazing Hawks,' career rushing for 95 yards on 20 carries. Senior Jason Brooks caught six passes, but was limited to 38 yards. Brooks, the Hawks' top receiver, caught 65 passes this season. Senior Zack Castelluccio, the Hawks' leading tackler, returned eight kickoffs for 152 yards with a long return of 40 yards. Defensively, the Hawks were led by senior Bruce DiMartino, who recorded six solo tackles with five assists including a sack for 11 yards. DiMartino made three stops for losses. Senior Jack Witte, a two-way performer, added four primary tackles and three assists with one play going for a loss. Congratulations to coach Pat Lambert, his coaching staff and the Hawks' players on turning in a superb playoff run and memorable season.