Berwick holds off Franklin, 20-14, for 4-0 start

Berwick fought through mistakes against Franklin Friday to remain undefeated with a 20-14 homecoming win.
Berwick coach Eric Holden said Franklin came prepared “to battle” in Friday’s District 8-3A opener for both teams.
Though the Panthers’ win against the Hornets wasn’t the prettiest, “We’re 4-0 ... and I’ll take a win any way I can get it,” Holden said.
Berwick did have some “ugly” moments with turnovers and penalties, Holden said. The Panthers lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and had nine penalties for 80 yards.
Penalties hurt Franklin, too, which racked up 13 for 85 yards.
Franklin got on the scoreboard on its second offensive drive of the game after Jarius Boyd intercepted Berwick quarterback Collin Louviere and returned the ball to the Panthers' 13 yard line.
Three plays later, John Boyd ran nine yards for a touchdown. Boyd ran in the two-point conversion to give the Hornets an 8-0 lead.
On Berwick’s next possession, Joshua Carver lost a fumble after catching a pass.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Franklin wasn’t able to capitalize and turned the ball over on downs.
After Franklin gave the ball back to Berwick again on a turnover on downs, Mitchell Sanford replaced Louviere at quarterback and drove the Panthers 66 yards on three pass plays, with a touchdown coming on a nine-yard Carver touchdown reception.
The Panthers failed to convert a two-point conversion and went into halftime down 8-6.
In the third quarter, Sanford led Berwick on another scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. Tysin Meads caught a 42-yard touchdown pass with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Toby Everage caught a pass to get the two-point conversion to give the Panthers a 14-8 lead.
Later in the third quarter, Sanford was intercepted by Avontre Pero, who returned the ball to Berwick’s 35.
However, 10-yard and 15-yard penalties doomed Franklin’s scoring chances, and the drive ended in a punt.
In the fourth quarter, Franklin did make the most of another Berwick fumble after recovering the ball on Franklin’s 47. Two 15-yard penalties against the Panthers set up an 18-yard touchdown run by Lamar Joseph. The Hornets two-point conversion attempt failed when Berwick intercepted the pass, but the score was tied at 14 with 6:10 left in the game.
The next drives for Berwick and Franklin ended in punts.
Berwick got the ball back with 2:04 to play in the fourth quarter with Louviere returning to the quarterback position. On 2nd-and-12, he completed a 32-yard pass to Kenan Jones to get to Franklin’s 22 yard line.
Later, on 3rd-and-10, Louviere kept the ball but was two yards short of the first down.
On 4th-and-2, the Panthers got just enough yardage to keep the drive alive when Louviere completed a two-yard pass to Carver.
Then, three plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Louviere threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Everage with just 24 seconds left in the game. Berwick didn’t convert on the extra point after a fumbled snap caused the Panthers to not attempt the kick.
Franklin had one more chance for a comeback, getting the ball back with 19 seconds left. The Hornets completed a 7-yard pass and then lost 5 yards on another pass play as time expired.
Splitting time at quarterback, Louviere and Sanford each threw for 133 yards and both threw an interception. Louviere threw one touchdown pass on the game-winning drive, while Sanford had two touchdown passes.
Jones led the Panthers with five catches for 107 yards.
Berwick had 303 yards of total offense to Franklin’s 226 yards. Of Franklin’s total yards, 184 yards came on the ground.
“I think we grew up a lot tonight,” Holden said of the win.
Holden said he was proud of how the team grew without coaches “pulling them to the water, so to speak, tonight,” he said.
Holden told his team that “there’s a natural maturation process, which every team goes through in order to make a championship run.”
“Our mantra is one great rep, one great down, one great series,” he said. “We take everything one rep at a time.”
Berwick didn’t focus on one play at a time in the beginning of the game due to all of the distractions that go along with homecoming week, Holden said.
The game “was a continual process of watching both sides of the ball mature and do certain things … and answer the call,” Holden said.
Franklin Coach Brandon Small said the game was a “tough loss” his squad but he said it showed areas where his squad can improve.
Franklin has to finish their drives and make the most of chances to score, Small said.
“Offensively, we left two touchdowns on the field in the first half,” Small said.
“We had two big turnovers by our defense, and we didn’t capitalize any points off of it,” Small said, referring to a Berwick fumble and turnover on downs.
Still, Small had high praise for his team.
“Our kids fought hard, and I can’t ask for anything better,” he said. “We do have a couple mistakes that we have to clean up, but, other than that, I’m pleased with the effort that I received from my kids.”
Holden said he and the Panthers are excited to travel to play an “awesome” Erath team this coming Friday. The Bobcats are 3-1 this season, including a 1-0 District 8-3A mark after defeating North Vermilion, 34-0, Thursday.