Berwick Panthers fall to Erath, 40-14

One week after putting up season highs, Berwick’s offense just couldn’t get rolling in Friday’s 40-14 loss to Erath at Geisler Stadium.
Erath (3-2 overall, 2-0 in District 8-3A) grabbed the early lead when quarterback Ben LeBlanc raced 50 yards for a touchdown on the Bobcats’ first play from scrimmage with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter.
Berwick’s defense was keying on Erath’s standout running back Elijah Mitchell, and LeBlanc pulled the ball on the zone read for the score. Dylan Floris missed the extra point, so Erath led 6-0.
Berwick (2-3, 1-1) answered with a touchdown with two minutes left in the quarter following a special team’s miscue by Erath. The Bobcats snapped the ball over the punter’s head and Berwick took over on the Bobcats’ 1-yard line.
Panthers’ quarterback Collin Louviere scored from there, and John McCorkle’s kick gave Berwick a 7-6 lead they carried into the second quarter.
However, Erath regained the lead when running back Scott Moore broke loose for an 86-yard touchdown run with 8:44 remaining in the first half. Moore had 139 yards rushing and a score for the Bobcats, who rushed for 370 yards in the game. Erath missed the extra-point kick but lead 12-7.
Berwick’s offense continued to misfire due to Erath spying Louviere to take away the quarterback run and keeping a safety over the top of the Panthers’ standout receiver, Audwin Williams.
Erath took a 12-7 lead into halftime.
Berwick managed 102 yards (70 rushing, 32 passing) in the first half but had a drive stall in the red zone and a pass intercepted to stifle another.
“We just didn’t throw and catch well like we normally do,” Berwick Coach Craig Brodie said. “We’re still a young team learning how to take that next step.”
On Friday, Louviere completed just 8-of-23 passes for 109 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed 17 times for 80 yards and a score, while Williams, who had 10 catches a week ago, was held without a catch.
Erath came out of the half on fire. Mitchell got going with a 39-yard scoring run with 9:46 remaining, and he added two short touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. He rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
LeBlanc also added a 75-yard touchdown pass to Luke Young in the third quarter. Erath scored on all three third-quarter possessions to put the game out of reach.
“They came out and took it to us in the third quarter,” Brodie said. “They just overpowered us. Offensively, we didn’t (do) anything to respond (to) their scores, and the game got away from us. The opponent had a lot to do with it, but we also missed some open throws. It just didn’t come together for us.”
The lone bright spot for Berwick was sophomore wide receiver Kenan Jones. Jones caught 5 balls for 97 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown.
Erath had 528 total yards (370 rushing, 158 passing).
“We just asked our kids to go get it after the half,” Erath Coach David Comeaux said. “We had our chances in the first half, but we didn’t get (it) done. We just stuck with our game, and the kids just got after it. I’m very proud of them.”
Berwick will return to action Thursday when it faces Patterson (3-2, 1-0) at the Sugar Dome, while Erath will travel to Franklin Friday.

BHS EHS
First downs: 11 17
Rushing yards: 97 370
Passing yards: 133 158
Total yards: 230 528
A-C-HI: 26-9-2 21-8-0
Penalties-yards: 1-15 6-45
Fumbles-lost: 2-0 2-0

Score By Quarters
BHS 7 0 7 0 = 14
EHS 6 6 22 6 = 40

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
EHS: Ben LeBlanc 50-yard run (kick failed) 8:07.

BHS: Collin Louviere 1-yard run (John McCorkle kick) 2:01.

Second Quarter
EHS: Scott Moore 86-yard run (kick failed) 8:44.

Third Quarter
EHS: Elijah Mitchell 39-yard run (run good) 9:46.

EHS: Luke Young 75-yard pass from LeBlanc (run good) 4:52.

BHS: Kenan Jones 60-yard pass from Louviere (kick good) 4:01.

EHS: Mitchell 2-yard run (run failed) 0:07.

Fourth Quarter
EHS: Mitchell 3-yard run (pass failed) 8:13.

Berwick Individual Stats
Passing
Collin Louviere 8-23-1, 109 yds., TD; Cameron Wiley 0-2-1, 0 yds.; Josh Carver 1-1-0, 24 yds.

Receiving
Kenan Jones 5-97 yds., TD; Tysin Meads 1- 6 yds., Josh Carver 2-10 yds.; Beau Boudreaux 1-20 yds.

Rushing
Louviere 17-80 yds., TD; Carver 4-4 yds.; Josh Jones 3- (-4) yds.; Barrett Hover 1-4 yds.; Wiley 1-13 yds.