Berwick hoping to excel under Holden

First-year Berwick High School football coach Eric Holden said he has a lot of talented players. He just needs to see them be consistent.
Holden would know good football players when he sees them, having been at such schools as Louisiana powerhouse Evangel Christian and Southern Lab along the way before eventually taking the job at Berwick this spring.
“I’ve been around some really good football players, and we’ve got a bunch of them here,” Holden said. “Our issue is about consistency. … It’s about playing like we’re on fire.”
Holden said he wants to see his guys compete all of the time.
“I want to see my guys learn what it means to compete, day-in and day-out, rep-in and rep-out,” he said. “If we can do that, and we can become more accountable to each other and to the process, I’ll be satisfied with that. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it didn’t fall in a day, either.”
Holden said the team is moving in the right direction, and he is happy with it.
This season, Berwick will employ a spread offense, while its defense will be multiple.
Berwick will return plenty of talent this season. Holden is especially high on his wide receiving corps.
Gone is Wayne State signee Audwin Williams after a solid senior season in which he caught 48 passes for 958 yards and 10 touchdowns on his way to honorable mention Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A All-State honors and first-team All-District 8-3A recognition.
However, the wide receiving corps boasts junior Kenan Jones, a second-team All-District 8-3A selection a year ago who already holds an LSU offer. Jones caught 20 passes for 407 yards and three touchdowns in 2015.
“We have an incredible wide receiver corps, I’ll be honest. … We really do have a great receiving corps, and I say that because I’ve been around some great ones,” Holden said. “I was around a great receiving corps at Evangel. I was around some great receivers at Southern Lab, and we’ve got that type of talent.”
In addition to Jones, the team has at its disposal 6-foot, 5-inch senior Tysin Meads, juniors Josh Carver and Denver Jenkins and seniors Cody Roberie and Austin Price.
“We’re going to play about eight wide receivers,” Holden said. “It’s not just going to be the four guys. We’re going to roll them in to keep them fresh. … I love our receiving corps.
Carver, who saw a lot of time in the backfield a year ago, caught 10 passes for 92 yards in 2015 while also rushing 41 times for 131 yards and a score.
Roberie had two touchdown receptions in 2015, while Meads had one score.
Throwing to the wide receivers will be either sophomore quarterback Mitchell Sanford or junior signal caller Collin Louviere.
“They’re still battling it out. … I don’t think I’ve seen any large separation from either one,” Holden said last week. “Both of them will play great at times, and then other times, they’ll play average, and I think they’re both above-average quarterbacks.”
Last season, Louviere earned second-team all-district honors after completing 63 of 152 passes for 1,090 yards with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 116 carries for 471 yards and four touchdowns.
Sanford competed 45 of 100 passes for 639 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions as a freshman.
At running back, the Panthers will look to sophomore Josh Jones, who rushed for 190 yards on 44 carries with two touchdowns as a freshman.
“I’m confident he’ll be our guy,” Holden said.
On the offensive line, sophomore Cruiz Crawford will start at left tackle, senior Austin Vercher, at left guard; senior Trent Hebert, at center; senior Austin Bergeron at right guard; and sophomore Seth Giroir at right tackle.
On the defensive line, players of note are junior Chaz Perry and sophomore Matthew Lejeune at defensive tackle and senior Orry Arcemont and junior Kenny Rhodes at defensive end.
Holden noted Perry has developed into a football player.
“He’s grown leaps and bounds from a kid that was the strongest kid in the school but really honestly was a nonfactor,” Holden said. “All of a sudden, he’s come into his own, and he’s working his butt off.”
The team’s linebackers will be senior D.J. Robicheaux and junior Cade Thibodeaux, while in the secondary, the team will feature senior Cameron Wiley, junior Lucas Hatch, sophomore Barrett Hover and junior Brennan Benedietto.
In the return game, Berwick will feature Toby Everage and Wiley.
Senior John McCorkle will do most of the kicking, while Alvin Jones will help some.
Price will handle the punting duties.
Berwick will open the season with four straight home games against Morgan City, Abbeville, Varnado and Franklin. The last of the home games to start the season will be the Panthers’ District 8-3A opener. Other district contests include matchups against Erath, Patterson, Kaplan, E.D. White and North Vermilion. The Panthers will have a nondistrict game at Haynes Academy in the New Orleans area sandwiched between district play on Oct. 21.
“We’ve got a good schedule put together,” Holden said. “We’ve got quite a few home games. Everybody in our district is tough. Everybody’s well coached. … There’s so much talent in this district, and the coaching in this district is great.”
Holden will be assisted this season by Sean Comeaux, Paul Gilder, Kenny Williams, David Spencer, John Menard, Brandon Bravata, Josh Montgomery, Trevor Richard and Lance Bourg.
Berwick will conclude preseason preparations today when it participates in the Morgan City High School Football Jamboree at Tiger Stadium. Berwick will face Morgan City at 6 p.m. and immediately after, Patterson.