Berwick, MCHS to meet Friday

Berwick and Morgan City are looking for consistency in Friday’s season opener at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
Berwick opened the Morgan City Jamboree with a 22-15 win against Covenant Christian Academy last week.
Berwick got big plays back-to-back. The first came 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.
Berwick led 9-7 before Joshua Jones took a kickoff and returned it 55 yards for a score with 32 seconds to play.
Berwick led 15-7 at halftime.
In the second half, Darrin 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.
Heading into this week, Berwick coach Craig Brodie said his team is taking the same approach they did in the jamboree.
“I guess the kids will start to get more excited as the week progresses, but I don’t think we play Morgan City enough to call it a real rivalry game,” he said.
It’s no secret what Morgan City’s game plan is each week.
“We know they are going to try to keep the ball away from our offense,” Brodie said. “They run simple plays, but they have some big guys up front and they just want to pick up first downs and play keep away.”
Morgan City had some success with its deliberate offense in a 13-12 loss to Patterson at the Morgan City Jamboree last week.
Patterson scored on its first two possessions, but Morgan City controlled the ball most of the second half and nearly pulled off the upset.
Morgan City got scores from Kedrick Scott, who broke loose for a 56-yard run to set up his 3-yard touchdown in the first half, while the Tigers marched to the end zone on a nine-play, all-run drive that Trey Derouen capped on a 5-yard run the second half.
This week, the Panthers’ offense is on Morgan City Coach Scott Tregle’s mind.
“They have a pretty good offense,” he said. “Their quarterback can play, and they have those two big receivers outside. They proved they can run the football in the jamboree, so the best place to keep those guys is on the sideline.”
Louviere completed two passes to Jones but didn’t connect with the Panthers’ other standout, Audwin Williams, Friday.
“We want to get ahead of them and see how that changes what they do,” Brodie said. “They played man-to-man against Patterson, so I hope our special athletes can make some big plays against them, too.”
Tregle says this Morgan City team doesn’t have the speed of last year’s Tiger squad that featured several players who went on to win a state track title in the Class 4A 4x100-meter relay.
“We’re a tough, hard-nosed team this year,” he said. “We don’t have that breakaway speed like last year, so we have to limit mistakes, play it close to the vest, and be in position to win the game in the fourth quarter.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
By CORWIN MURRAY