Berwick High School lost two of the state’s best receivers to college football, but the cupboard is far from empty in 2018.
First, Berwick hired Mike Walker as head coach and athletic director in February to replace Eric Holden, who resigned after two seasons. Walker, 29, comes to Berwick after spending the past four seasons as defensive coordinator of the Vandebilt Catholic football team. The former Nicholls State linebacker also has two years of experience as a Nicholls graduate assistant.
On the field, gone are Class 3A All-State receivers Kenan Jones (LSU) and Josh Carver (Southeastern) and their combined 117 receptions for 2,343 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2017.
But, standout quarterback Mitchell Sanford, an LSU baseball commitment, returns after a huge junior season where he completed 164-of-332 passes for 2,951 yards with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed 86 times for 597 yards and seven touchdowns.
“He has as much arm talent as I have ever seen,” Walker said. “He can really, really throw the football, and I’m amazed at how fast he’s picked up the new offense. He's special. He’s very talented.”
Sanford earned second-team All-District 8-3A honors a year ago as well as Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A honorable mention All-State recognition.
Sanford will be backed up by freshman Brett Bearb.
“Brett can really run, and we are going to get him in on some of our zone read stuff,” Walker said. “And he has a pretty good arm, too. He’s one of the better athletes in that freshman class, for sure.”
Highly-regarded running back Josh Jones returns to lead the Panthers’ ground game. Jones, a second-team All-District 8-3A running back a year ago, rushed 167 times for 1,256 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2017.
“Josh will get the bulk of the carries this season,” Walker said. “He is a very, very talented young man who can run inside and out. He’s very strong, an absolute freak in the weight room and very coachable. He wants to be the best he can be.”
Hayden Seneca, Kylon Garrison and Rustin Ratcliff all will be in the mix at running back, too.
“Hayden will get some carries, but he will be more of a fullback,” Walker said.
The Panthers’ starting receiving corps will be Hunter Landry and Keyon Singleton on the outside, while Barrett Hover, Seth Canty and Reed Gonzalez are the team’s slot receivers.
“Hunter probably has the best hands and runs the best routes of the group, but Keyon and Barrett are a little more of a home run threat,” Walker said.
Hunter Seneca will be the starting tight end.
“Hunter has good hands, and he runs good routes, too, and Mitchell feels comfortable throwing the football to him,” Walker said.
Returning starter Noah Alhayek will lead the offensive line at center, while James Crawford, Matthew Legendre, Tristan McGonagill, Timothy Soudelier and Seth Giroir will join him.
“All of these guys got a lot of playing the last two seasons, so we have a bunch of experience on the offensive line,” Walker said.
William Skinner and Grant Hebert also will see time on the offensive line.
Berwick will remain a spread offense in 2018.
“Obviously, when you have a quarterback that can throw it like ours can, we’re going to spread people out but with the intent of getting the ball to Josh Jones,” Walker said. “We are going to spread people out to run the football, and that’s been the tone of preseason practice, being physical. We demand as coaches that our kids are physical so we can establish the line of scrimmage and run the football.”
Defensively, a young defensive line may be key this season.
Cruz Crawford and Alhayek will be the starting defensive ends, while Drayvan Bryan, James Crawford, Legendre and Soudelier will rotate in at tackle. Landon Harris and Bailey Thibodeaux also will see playing time at defensive end.
“We’ve been trying to get them as many reps as we can,” Walker said. “They have certainly improved since we’ve been working with them, and that’s important because we will have a lot of those guys going both ways. They need to know what we need them to do, technique-wise, on offense and defense.”
Ratcliff, Hayden Seneca, Parker Bran and Garrison are the starting linebackers.
“This group has been so coachable because when we started our 7-on-7 this summer, they were struggling to grasp what I wanted them to do in our coverages, and they have come a long way,” Walker said. “They’re now setting the tone for our defense.”
Cornerbacks will be Jones, Singleton and Landry, while the safeties are Hover, Blake Pennison and Ethan Nguyen.
Hover, a first-team All-District 8-3A selection and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A Honorable Mention All-State pick a year ago, is on college football programs’ radar after a stellar junior season.
“He just a football player,” Walker said. “He has a natural feel for getting to the football, and what’s good about him is he wants to know why his assignment is what it is. He’s a student of the game, and he just enjoys playing the game.”
In 2017, Hover collected 97 tackles, including 12 for loss. He had one sack, one interception and caused two fumbles.
Among the defensive backfield losses from a year ago are second-team All-District 8-3A defensive back Lucas Hatch.
Berwick’s defense will run what Walker calls a hybrid 4-2-5 or a 3-4 scheme.
“I’m a 3-4 guy, but they already had that 4-2-5, so I added some of my 3-4 stuff to their 4-2-5,” Walker said. “I think the guys have it down.”
Seth Canty, a first-team All-District 8-3A selection a year ago, will be the Panther’s kicker and punter, while Jones, Hover and Singleton will be the primary kick/punt returners.
Berwick will participate in Morgan City High School’s Jamboree Friday when it faces White Castle at 6 p.m. at Tiger Stadium. The Panthers will open the regular season Aug. 31 at home against Berwick.