Berwick beats CCA; Patterson holds off MCHS

Berwick opened the Morgan City High School Jamboree with a 22-15 win against Covenant Christian Academy Friday at Tiger Stadium.
Berwick got big plays back-to-back, first on a 30-yard pass from Colin Louviere to Kenan Jones followed by a 55-yard touchdown run by Joshua Carver at 13:51 of the opening quarter. Beau Boudreaux added the kick for a 7-0 Panthers’ lead.
Covenant Christian got on the scoreboard with a drive late in the quarter, aided by 15-yard penalty. Marquel Daigle scored on a 4-yard run at 2:07 to tie the game 7-7.
Berwick got a safety when Covenant Christian Academy snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head and he was called for grounding in the end zone with 43 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Berwick led 9-7, but the Panthers weren’t done because Joshua Jones took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 55 yards for a score with 32 seconds to play.
Berwick led 15-7 at halftime.
In the second half, Berwick’s defense continued to keep Covenant Christian’s offense at bay. Darrin Robicheaux, Austin Vercher and Jones were in on several tackles.
Jones got the Panthers going again with a 49-yard punt return to the Covenant Christian 10-yard line with 7:51 remaining
Robicheaux darted into the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run with 6:55 remaining and John McCorkle added the kick for a 22-7 Panthers’ lead.
Covenant Christian’s Daigle scored his second touchdown on a 66-yard run with 5:09 to play and a two-point conversion made the score 22-15.
The teams traded fumbles before Berwick’s defense used pressure to stifle Covenant Christian’s offense and secure the win.
“We won tonight, and this program needs some positive things happening to it.” Berwick Coach Craig Brodie said. “We tried to give it away at the end, but we have a lot of inexperienced players that have to learn how to put a game away. But we had some athletes that made plays tonight and that’s a positive.”
Berwick will face Morgan City Friday at Tiger Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
In the finale, Patterson held off Morgan City, 13-12.
Patterson took the early lead on a nine-play, 65-yard drive on its first possession of the game. Quarterback Sirbatian Charles dove in for a 1-yard touchdown and Christian Soria added the kick for a 7-0 lead with 5:17 remaining in the opening quarter.
Morgan City answered immediately when Kedrick Scott broke loose for a 56-yard run to give the Tigers a first-and-goal at the Patterson 9-yard line. Scott did the honors on a 3-yarder, but the Morgan City High point-after attempt was blocked, giving Patterson a 7-6 lead with 3:57 remaining in the opening quarter.
Patterson’s quick strike offense added another score when Charles hit D.J. Jones on a 66-yard touchdown pass with 1:42 left in the first quarter.
Patterson led 13-6 at the half.
To open the second half, Charles fumbled and Morgan City recovered and took over at the Patterson 40-yard line.
They marched to the end zone on a nine-play, all-run drive that Trey Derouen capped on a 5-yard run with 6:58 remaining. Patterson blocked another extra-point attempt to hold onto a 13-12 lead.
Morgan City rolled the dice with an onside kick and recovered at its 46-yard-line. Patterson’s defense held, and the ’Jacks’ offense melted valuable time off the clock before giving the ball back to the Tigers with 34 seconds left.
“We struggled at times, but we knew they did a good job of keeping the ball away from you,” Patterson Coach Chad Blanchard said. “We’re undersized, and they do some good things in the run game that we knew we would have trouble with. It was the same thing last year. But we did enough to win and we overcame adversity, so now we have to continue to work (to) get better. But a win is a win.”
Morgan City got one last big play when Lloyd Singleton made an outstanding one-handed catch, but Patterson got a big sack from Tyric Garrett to end the game.
“We know they have some great skill people so we had to keep the ball away from them, and we were able to do that tonight,” Morgan City Coach Scott Tregle said. “We made some mental mistakes and miscues that we have to clean up, but I’m proud of these guys because we’re only two years into our program.”
Patterson will travel to Central Lafourche Friday, while Morgan City will host Berwick. Game times are 7 p.m.