Berwick, Patterson beat the bracket; Central Catholic falls in upset

For east St. Mary prep football teams, the state power rankings told a story. In Friday's regional playoffs, the story turned out to be fiction.

Patterson, seeded 11th in Non-Select Division III, and Berwick, ranked 18th in the same division, beat higher-ranked opponents on the road Friday and will move into the state quarterfinals.

Central Catholic, rated No. 2 in Select Division IV, was eliminated by No. 15 Opelousas Catholic 52-12 on Friday in Morgan City.
Both remaining St. Mary teams will be at home Friday for quarterfinal games.

Berwick got two late touchdowns from running back Jayden Milton to overcome No. 2-ranked Bogulasa 33-30. The Panthers will host seven-seeded Amite on Friday.
Patterson quarterback Caylon Davis ran for 117 yards, and running back Josiah Jennings scored three touchdowns in a 36-12 victory at No. 6 Winnfield. The Lumberjacks will take on No. 3 Union Parish on Friday in Patterson.

If Patterson and Berwick win Friday, they'll meet again in the state semifinals.

In last Friday's other playoff game involving a St. Mary team, Hanson Memorial fell 45-0 to St. Mary's in Select Division IV.

Patterson 36,
Winnfield 12

Patterson has the state's most potent passing combination in Davis and wide receiver Howard Kinchen. But in the last few games, the Lumberjacks have been successful relying on Davis' legs rather than his arm. Jennings has added strength to the Patterson rushing game as well.

Davis rushed for the 117 yards on 12 carries and had a running touchdown Friday.

Jennings got his two rushing scores while picking up 54 yards on 13 trips. He also caught two Davis passes for 29 yards and a TD.

Meanwhile, the Lumberjack defense kept powerful Winnfield in check.

"We just preached assignment football," Patterson coach Garrett Kreamer said. "We had a good week of practice, and we executed our game plan."

Khylin Brooks ran a kickoff back for a Lumberjack touchdown.

Elijah Johnson rushed eight times for 33 yards, and Kinchen picked up 12 yards on a single carry.

Kinchen caught three passes Friday for 45 yards, and Cam Davis had three catches for 8 yards.

Patterson, now 8-4, faces a challenge in 11-1 Union Parish.

The team features all-time Louisiana rushing leader Trey Holly, who passed Nick Bossette's state career record of 8,704 yards in September. Holly, who has already committed to LSU, has led Union Parish to two state title games.

"They pound the rock," Kreamer said. "And they've got a lot of playoff experience."

Berwick 33,
Bogalusa 30

Milton put in a night's work Friday, rushing for 74 yards on 28 carries, only two of which went for more than 5 yards.

But one of the short runs was a 3-yard touchdown plunge when Berwick was trailing 30-21 late in the third quarter. Nisiah Bennett set up that score with a 32-yard kickoff return to the Bogalusa 39.

After Berwick stalled at the Bogalusa 13 and had a touchdown called back in the fourth quarter, the Panthers recovered a fumble at the Bogalusa 38-yard line. On the ninth play of that drive, Milton struck again with a 1-yard run that put the Panthers on top 33-30 with 1:34 left.

The clock wound down as Bogalusa quarterback Ashton Levi guided his team to the Berwick 23. But Berwick's Blaze Harrison stopped Talik Williams for a 2-yard loss, and Daryll Washington and Treylique Pratt rushed Levi into an incompletion.

Levi's fourth-down pass fell incomplete in the end zone, and Berwick was headed for the quarterfinals.

While Milton was slugging it out on the ground Friday, quarterback Cru Bella and receiver Zack Gonzales decided to go by air.

Bella went 12-for-20 for 214 yards and three touchdowns. Gonzales had eight of the receptions for 166 yards.

Of Berwick's five touchdowns, four capped drives in which Gonzales caught passes of 32, 6, 17 and 36 yards. The 6-yard pass set up Gonzales' own 35-yard TD reception.

Namon Bennett caught three passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, and Nisiah Bennett had an 11-yard TD reception.

That was just enough offense to overcome Bogalusa and Levi, who led his team with 73 rushing yards on 19 carries and went 27-for-39 passing for 417 yards and three TDs.

On 65 snaps, Levi handed the ball off just six times.

His top receivers were Aquanis Roberts with eight catches for 140 yards and Reynis Morris-Payne, who had eight grabs for 113 yard and the three touchdowns.

Bogalusa's vulnerability was the extra point. In a three-point game, Berwick stopped the Lumberjacks on all five 2-point attempts.

Andre Engleton added 32 rushing yards on 10 carries for Berwick, now 8-4.

Berwick's quarterfinal opponent, Amite, beat Jena 46-12 in that regional and is 9-3.

Opelousas Catholic 52,
Central Catholic 12

The mystery in this game was how Opelousas Catholic, with a powerful wing-T rushing game and a solid defense, could be ranked only 15th in a small-school division.

The Opelousas team held 2,000-yard rusher Damondrick Blackburn to 43 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Figuring in the 12 rushing plays in which the Vikings stopped Central Catholic behind the line, the Eagles netted -1 yard on the ground.

Quarterback Caleb O'Con was 11-for-17 for 126 yards with a touchdown, a 20-yarder to Blackburn, and an interception. Tylon Hollins had four catches for 78 yards, Blackburn two for 12, Vernon Singleton three for 9 and Jack Lipari two for 27.

Opelousas Catholic quarterback Mark Collins led the way with nine carries for 83 yards and touchdown runs of 3, 44 and 17 yards. He threw only two passes, completing one to Chris Brown for 18 yards and a touchdown.

Brown also carried 12 times for 68 yards, and Eli Chelette gained 65 yards and had a touchdown on 15 carries.

Two Central Catholic fumbles were returned for scores by Viking Trace Denofrio.

Andrew Cavalier, a leader on defense all year for Central Catholic, also recovered a fumble.

The loss ended Central Catholic's season at 8-3. The Eagles were No. 1 in the Select Division IV power ratings before a late-season loss to eventual top seed Vermilion Catholic.
Central Catholic notched wins over 3A schools Abbeville and Berwick.

Blackburn finishes his high school career with school records for rushing and touchdowns.

Opelousas Catholic, 9-3, moves on to play Friday at Ascension Catholic in the quarterfinals. Ascension Catholic won 34-32 when the two schools clashed in September.