The Berwick High School Panthers will continue District 8-3A action Friday when they travel to face Kaplan High School.
Berwick (5-1 overall, 1-0 in district) enters the contest ranked No. 9 in the latest Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A poll. A week ago, Berwick routed Erath High School 55-19 in both teams’ District 8-3A opener. Junior quarterback Mitchell Sanford tossed six touchdown passes and threw for 321 yards. Sanford also rushed for 78 yards and another score.
His top receivers were junior running back Josh Jones with three catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns and senior wide receiver Joshua Carver with four receptions for 97 yards and three touchdowns and LSU commit and senior wide receiver Kenan Jones with three catches for 88 yards and a score.
Meanwhile, Kaplan enters Friday’s game with a 3-3 mark and a 1-0 mark in district play. The Pirates opened league play a week ago with a 51-12 win against Abbeville.
The Pirates are led by their run game, which features running backs Mac Thibeaux and Braylon Romero. Thibeaux has rushed 99 times for 576 yards and four scores, while Romero has 82 carries for 499 yards and two scores.
“All those running backs and all those players over there are great,” Berwick High School Coach Eric Holden said. “They’re all strong. They’re great athletes. They’re great football players. A great coach. It’s a great program, and the head coach over there does a great job.”
Through the air, Kaplan quarterback Trae Case has completed 15 of 36 passes for 226 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Case’s leading receiver is Logan Roy, who has five catches for 79 yards and one score. Tight End Quintlan Cobb, who stands approximately 6-feet, 5-inches, has six receptions for 70 yards.
Earlier this season, Berwick faced and defeated South Terrebonne 49-28. The matchup against the Gators’ wing-T offense was meant to prepare the Panthers for later in the season in district when they faced Kaplan and Abbeville as well as in the postseason.
Asked how the team has looked this week in practice after seeing the wing T this season, Holden said, “It’s still one of those offenses that you got to be disciplined. Everyone’s got to execute their individual techniques properly, and we got to be where we have to be.”
Defensively, Holden said he expects a 3-4 look from the Pirates much of the game.
“They’ll probably defend us the same way they defended us last year,” he said, referencing a game that the Pirates won 37-18 a year ago.