Berwick looks to win third straight Friday

Berwick brings a two-game win streak into Friday’s District 8-3A matchup with Erath at Geisler Stadium.
Berwick (2-2 1-0) opened district play last week with a 26-12 win against Franklin.
The win marked the first time in quite some time the Panthers have won two straight.
“We are certainly in unchartered waters, but the kids are handling it well,” Berwick Coach Craig Brodie said. “Enthusiasm makes the practices more enjoyable. We’re not having to give them the lectures, etc., to keep them focused. We’ve come a long way.”
The Panthers had their best offensive performance of the season a week ago, totaling 417 yards (241 passing and 176 rushing).
Quarterback Collin Louviere had a big game, completing 12-of-24 passes for 212 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also rushed 25 times for 118 yards and a score.
“Collin had a great game,” Brodie said. “Anytime you throw for over 200 and run for over a 100, that’s a strong performance. But I still prefer to use all three of my quarterbacks for wear and tear purposes. Injuries has derailed us in the past.”
This season, Louviere leads the team in rushing and passing. He has carried the ball 45 times for 174 yards and 1 touchdown, while he has completed 25-of-53 passes for 444 yards with 5 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
In limited action a week ago, backup quarterback Mitchell Sanford completed his only pass attempt for a 29-yard touchdown pass to Audwin Williams.
Sanford has completed 16-of-51 passes for 258 yards with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season.
Williams also had a big game, catching 10 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This season, Williams has caught 22 passes for 415 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Josh Jones was the second leading rusher last week with 8 carries for 37 yards.
Defensively, Berwick will have its hands full with Erath running back Elijah Mitchell.
This season, Mitchell, a junior, has rushed 60 times for 687 yards and 14 touchdowns, gaining most of his yards during the last two weeks.
The Bobcats also feature senior Scott More, who has carried 33 times for 302 yards and 1 touchdown, while quarterback Ben LeBlanc has rushed 28 times for 149 yards.
Through the air, LeBlanc has completed 13-of-47 passes for 108 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Luke Young is the team’s leading receiver with 8 catches for 88 yards.
Erath (2-2, 1-0) beat North Vermilion 33-19 Friday in both team’s District 8-3A opener.
“Erath is an old-school Split-Veer team,” Brodie said. “It’s a simple offense, but they run it well.”
Defensively, Berwick limited Franklin to just 214 yards (208 yards rushing and 6 passing) a week ago.
“Defense has (been) unbelievable,” Brodie said. “They’ve played really, really well, and all the work we did on our tackling has paid off. We have the kids leading with their front shoulders on the lead hip of the runner, then grab and turn. It’s a tackling method the Seattle Seahawks developed, and our defensive coaches started putting (in) last summer. It allows our smaller players to bring down bigger runners.”
Berwick had just a 13-12 halftime lead Friday before the Panthers turned a second-half turnover into points on offense.
Shortly after, the squad scored again after getting excellent field position due to a short Franklin punt.
With a 14-point lead, the Panthers held the Hornets back on defense, while its offense ran out the clock to win the game.
Friday’s game will kick off at 7 p.m.