'Jacks will play at Franklin Thursday

Patterson must keep its focus in Thursday’s finale against winless Franklin with the outright District 9-3A championship on the line.
The road game was moved from Friday to Thursday because of a shortage of officials in the Lafayette area.
The Lumberjacks (6-3, 3-0), who already have clinched a share of the district title, can win the crown outright and secure a home playoff game with a win.
“When we give them the game plan on Monday, we also give them a theme or word for the week,” Patterson head coach Chad Blanchard said. “And the word for this week was finish. Finish the right way. We’ve worked hard to be in this position.”
Patterson won its sixth straight game, dismantling Berwick 61-21 Friday.
The Lumberjacks’ offense wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard. After standout running back Tristen Ausama ripped off 34 yards on his first two carries, junior quarterback Sirbatian Charles hit Daylon Charlot for a 28-yard touchdown at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter.
Berwick fumbled and the ’Jacks followed the same script on the next possession with Charles hitting Nehemiah Augustus for a 5-yard score after two Ausama runs.
Patterson led 14-0 with 8:11 to play in the opening quarter.
Berwick turned the ball over yet again on the next possession. This time Patterson defensive back Shay Ragas picked off a Jeremy Boudreaux pass to set up the ’Jacks at the Panthers’ 30-yard line.
Receiver Mykel Jones took a jet-sweep and darted 30 yards for another Patterson touchdown at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter. Jones carried twice for 60 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Trailing 21-0, Berwick turned the ball over for the fourth time. Standout running back Braden Billiot lost the handle and Augustus recovered for Patterson.
Charles hooked up with Charlot again for 42 yards to set up a 4-yard scoring run by Ausama. Charles was 8-of-9 passing for 156 yards and three touchdowns, while Charlot had two catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Charles has completed 74-of-129 passes for 1,330 yards with 20 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Charlot is the team’s top receiver with 18 catches for 507 yards and 9 touchdowns, while the ’Jacks’ other standout pass catcher, Mykel Jones, has 26 catches for 498 yards and 7 TDs.
Ausama was the leading rusher Friday with nine carries for 82 yards and two scores. John Davis carried four times for 57 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Charles carried four times for 48 yards. Ausama has carried 124 times for 934 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Charles has 373 yards on 65 carries and 3 touchdowns, while Davis has 36 carries for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“I think we executed very well on offense Friday with a limited amount of snaps,” Blanchard said. “I’m also happy with the balance we’ve played with the last couple weeks.”
Patterson averages 37.3 points per game this season.
Defense and special teams, however, showed a few cracks Friday.
“We gave up too many big plays on defense, and our special teams had a couple miscues,” Blanchard said. “It’s clear that teams will not kick the ball to our deep guys because they are scared of them, so we have to be ready for whatever they cook up special teams-wise every week. I think we’ve cleaned up that stuff up.”
Berwick only gained 192 total yards (127 yards rushing, 65 passing), but they had 15 first downs.
Franklin (0-9, 0-3) lost to Donaldsonville Friday 26-0. The Hornets average just 5.77 points per game this season, with a season high 20 points coming in a one-point loss to Erath in September. Franklin has been shut out four times this season.
“They do a lot of different things formation wise and with their personnel groups,” Blanchard said. “That’s tough to prepare for in a short week, and they always play hard.”
Thursday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Franklin.