Patterson leads Tri-City area teams at tourney

Local football teams got some much needed preseason work Saturday at Central Catholic’s annual 7-on-7 tournament at the school’s practice field.
The tournament began at 9 a.m. with games continuing into the afternoon heat.
“I thought the tournament was very well run,” Berwick Coach Craig Brodie said. “It was also good to get some work with referees on the field, but the heat was brutal.”
Temperatures were in the mid-90’s with a heat index of 101 degrees, according to Intellicast’s weather observation website.
Patterson finished the day 4-0, while Franklin was 4-1 and Central Catholic was 3-1. Berwick finished 2-3, while Ascension Catholic was 1-3 and Jeanerette was 0-4.
“Generally, I thought we played well, but we struggled on offense,” Patterson Coach Chad Blanchard said. “We also had to make a big stop on defense against Franklin to win that game.”
The Lumberjacks beat Franklin 17-10, Jeanerette 31-11, Ascension Catholic 23-11 and Berwick 37-6.
“I was happy with the growth of our young defensive backs,” Blanchard said. “We are playing a bunch of young kids back there, sophomores and freshmen. That’s what 7-on-7 is for, to get some experience before August and September. We’ve done a ton of 7-on-7; we play weekly in practice or in tournaments. Our DBs and wide receivers have come a long way this summer, and that’s areas (we) needed to see growth.”
Franklin rebounded from the Patterson loss with four straight wins. The Hornets defeated Jeanerette 27-7, Berwick 24-14, Central Catholic 21-18 and Ascension Catholic.
Central Catholic also had a strong showing, going 3-1. The Eagles beat Jeanerette 16-5 before losing to Franklin 21-18. Central Catholic rounded out the day with wins against Ascension Catholic and Berwick, 23-11 and 37-6, respectively.
“We played reasonably well,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “The kids competed hard against good competition, and that’s how you get better this time of year. We got a lot of good reps on both sides of the ball. That’s what the tournament is for.”
Brodie also was pleased with the tournament’s caliber of play.
“We competed well,” he said. “I was quite pleased with the effort. In fact, I’ve been pleased (with) the team’s effort all summer.” Brodie said. “We played well until we had back-to-back games. The heat just took it out of us in the last game.”
The Panthers beat Ascension Catholic 28-10 and Jeanerette 23-11 before falling to Franklin 32-12, CCHS 37-6 and Patterson 25-10.
“I was also happy with our defense,” Brodie said. “Our defense has come a long way this summer; 7-on-7 is an offensive game, but we’ve made some big strides on that side of the ball.”
Central Catholic would like to thank Chet Sternfels of Advanced Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Service.
“They’re not only the tournament’s sponsor, but they also put in a ton of work to make this thing go,” Minton said. “Without Chet, there would be no tournament, so we must say a big thank you.”