BERWICK – The Eunice High Bobcats got off to a good start here Friday night in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs, but it was Berwick who grabbed a 34-14 win.
The Bobcats tookthe opening kickoff and marched down the field against the home-standing Panthers, advancing to Berwick’s 37-yard line thanks to a 29-yard pass from quarterback Jaden Brasseaux to Tyler Darbonne.
The Bobcats continued their initial push with a 7-yard run by Avery Lee and a 14-yard run by Austin Phillips.
It appeared the Bobcats were going to take the early lead, but on the seventh play of the drive, the Cats fumbled the ball at the 3-yard line and it was recovered by the Panthers.
The Bobcat defense kept the Panthers from moving off the goal line, forcing three pass incompletions and forcing a punt.
The Cats took over the ball at the Panther 32 and runs by Bailey Richardson and Lee moved the Cats to the Panther 27.
On the next play, Brasseaux connected with Jordan Ledet on a 27-yard pass to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead after Phillips kicked the PAT.
The Bobcat defensive unit held firm against the Panther offense, forcing a fourth-and-four at the Eunice 32.
The Cats picked up a first down, but was unable to maintain the drive.
A short punt of 16 yards by the Cats gave the Panthers field position and they made the most of it by driving in for a touchdown on a pass from quarterback Mitchell Sanford to Josh Carver for a 22-yard touchdown.
The PAT was good and the game was tied at 7-7.
The Bobcats were unable to move the football and a punt return by Joshua Jones put the Panthers in excellent field position.
Sanford scored from the one-yard line and the PAT was successful to give Berwick a 14-7 lead.
Eunice took the kickoff and had an 8-play drive going, but the Cats were unable to finish as they ran out of time at the half.
The Panthers received the third quarter kickoff, but the Cats forced a punt.
The Panthers, though, held firm, forcing a Bobcat punt and putting together a drive that ended with Sanford hitting Kenan Jones with a 43-yard pass for a touchdown.
Eunice’s Dameon Frank blocked the PAT kick, but the Panthers held a 20-7 lead in the third quarter.
Neither team could mount a threat as the third quarter reached its end, but Berwick had momentum heading into the fourth quarter. Joshua Jones scored on a 3-yard run and a successful PAT kick gave the Panthers a 27-7 lead.
The Bobcats put together a march after receiving the kickoff, moving from their 23-yard line to the 23 of the Panthers. The Bobcats completed their scoring drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Brasseaux to Josh Youngblood. Harold Fontenot kicked the PAT to cut the lead to 27-14.
The Eunice defensive unit got the ball back for its offense with a fumble recovery and the Bobcats put together a last-ditch effort with a 9-play drive. The threat ended, though, when a Brasseaux pass was intercepted by Kenan Jones, who returned it 70 yards for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 34-14 victory.
Berwick will take on number six West Feliciana, who advanced by beating number 27 North Webster 42-13.