[StBernard] Hannan duo driven to win

[Westley Annis]

Hannan duo driven to win
Larocca, Deharde eager to make first playoff appearance
Friday, September 04, 2009 
By Ted Lewis
Staff writer
Every weekday morning at approximately 6:45 a.m. for the past two years,
they've met at the Winn-Dixie on Paris Avenue in Chalmette to carpool for
the nearly 60-mile, one-way drive to Goodbee. 

School activities often delay their return until after 7 p.m. 

But to Hannan seniors Joey Larocca, David Deharde, Stephanie Gonzales and
Jenna Alphonso, it's been a good ride. The four are the last of their kind
-- St. Bernard Parish residents who commute to St. Tammany to attend Hannan,
even thought the school was moved from Meraux to the north shore after
Hurricane Katrina devastated the original campus four years ago. 

"I was raised in Arabi," said Larocca, a linebacker whose final prep season
begins tonight against Northlake Christian. "I wanted to go to Hannan my
whole life, and I especially wanted to play sports at Hannan. 

"I believe in what Hannan represents -- that charity leads to perfection. I
really love everything about this school. I just couldn't leave it." 

Larocca and his riding partners are part of another dwindling group --
Hannan students with St. Bernard roots. Principal John Cavell estimates that
no more than 35 percent of the enrollment of 225 are former residents of St.
Bernard. 

Larocca had attended Hannan for all of two weeks when Katrina struck. 

"I was at my friend's riding a dirt bike when my mom called and said we had
to evacuate because there was a hurricane coming," he said. "About the only
thing I saved was my eighth-grade graduation cap (from Chalmette Christian
Academy). It was just crazy." 

With their home swamped by 18 feet of water, the Laroccas spent most of the
next year living in Alabama, including time in a state park trailer
encampment with other St. Bernard refugees. 

They returned in the summer of 2006 to a FEMA trailer in what had been their
front yard while their home was being restored. 

Larocca was home-schooled during that time, but his credits weren't
accepted, so he had to restart his freshmen year at Hannan. 

No matter. 

"I thought about Chalmette High for a while," he said. "I just couldn't do
it. I wanted to go to Hannan." 

For two years, the school provided a bus for the St. Bernard residents. But
it was discontinued in 2008, leaving those who remained no choice but to
drive themselves. 

"You've got to give a lot of credit to their parents," Hannan football coach
and athletic director George Templet said. "Not only are they paying
tuition, but they've provided transportation and gas for their kids to get
here. I really admire them, and I'm going to miss them." 

But not before Larocca and Deharde, who plays cornerback (Gonzales is on the
volleyball team, and Alphonso is on the dance team), get in their one shot
at the playoffs. The Hawks have played as a football independent the past
three years. 

"We've made the playoffs in baseball (and volleyball and softball), but it's
not like football," Larocca said. "Football has been all about rebuilding
the program to get us to this point."