Berwick High School fell at home to Vandebilt Catholic 41-14 Friday. Above are the Panthers' Keyon Singleton, left, and Noah Alhayek in action. Berwick will return to action this Friday when it hosts Rayne in nondistrict action. (The Daily Review/Geoff Stoute)
Vandebilt Catholic cruises past Berwick 41-14
Vandebilt Catholic came out hungry for its first win of the season and jumped on Berwick Friday at Geisler Stadium in Berwick.
The Terriers ran out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and a 34-0 halftime advantage.
“They came out and punched us in mouth with their physicality on both sides of the ball, and we didn’t have an answer for it,” Berwick Coach Mike Walker said.
Vandebilt Catholic piled up 306 total yards in the first half (142 rushing and 164 passing), while Berwick had just 43 yards (15 rushing and 28 passing).
Berwick did get a spark from senior running back Keyon Singleton late in the third quarter, and he capped a 15-play, 76-yard scoring drive with a touchdown reception with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter. Senior kicker Seth Canty added the point-after to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 34-7.
Quarterback Reed Gonzales added the Panthers’ other touchdown on a run in the fourth quarter.
For the game, Singleton finished with 11 carries for 44 yards. He also caught touchdown, finishing the game with two catches for 15 yards. Jayden Milton added six carries for 49 yards.
Gonzales led the Panthers’ offense with nine carries for 87 yards and a touchdown, while he was 9-of-20 passing for 63 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“He battled all night, and when he has time to set his feet, throw the ball and read defenses, he does a great job,” Walker said. “But again, I have to give them (Vandebilt Catholic) credit. They did a good job of mixing up their pressure fronts and forced our guy to run for his life too much.”
Berwick drops to 1-2 with Rayne coming to town this week.
“I told them losing is a word we have removed for our vocabulary,” Walker said. “We either win or learn, so we will come in the morning (Saturday) and we’re going to learn from those mistakes and get better for next week.”
Vandebilt Catholic (1-2) totaled nearly 500 yards of offense with 20 first downs. Terriers quarterback Gavin Daigle did most of the damage, completing 11-of-14 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Daigle finished the game with 110 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Vanderbilt will hit the road Friday when it travels to face Dutchtown.
Additional reporting by www.bayoupreps.com.