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Berwick braced for Patterson’s first punch Thursday night, and once the Panthers still were standing, they knew it could be a special night.
Berwick held off a scrappy Patterson squad, 29-26, in the District 9-3 opener for both teams at Geisler Stadium in Berwick.
Berwick Coach Mike Walker said it was it a great prep football game.
“It’s just too bad that someone had to lose,” Walker said. “Hat’s off to the guys, because they could have come in here at the half and said this is over because Patterson punched us in the mouth on both sides of the ball.”
Berwick (3-3, 1-0) opened the game with a 13-play, 66-yard drive that established Keyon Singleton on the ground. The big senior carried eight of the next nine plays to set up a first-and-10 at the Patterson 23-yard line.
Quarterback Reed Gonzales took over from there, finding his favorite target, Seth Canty, for a 23-yard touchdown at 6:41 mark of the first quarter. Canty added the kick for a 7-0 Berwick lead.
Patterson (2-4, 0-1) wasted little time answering as Kyler Paul took a third-down handoff and raced 73 yards untouched for a touchdown. Jose Riveria added the point-after kick to tie the game at 7 at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.
Paul was later kicked out the game for a personal foul, which was a big blow for the already thin Lumberjacks.
Berwick got another big play to open the second quarter when Gonzales tossed a ball up for grabs and Patterson defensive back Dylan Fabre tipped the ball into the air. However, Dylan Cothron was there to grab it for a 27-yard touchdown catch with 8:49 remaining in the first half for a 14-7 Berwick lead.
The ’Jacks’ answered with a 15-play, 82 yard drive that they capped with an Allen Langston 1-yard touchdown run with just 25 seconds left in the second quarter. Patterson missed the point-after attempt after a bad snap, so Berwick led 14-13 at halftime.
Berwick opened the second half with a Canty onside kick that he recovered at the Patterson 49 yard line, but the Panthers couldn’t anything going.
For Patterson, quarterback Tylon Walton hooked up with Darion Robertson for a 32-yard touchdown. The two-point pass failed, but the ’Jacks led for the first time at 19-14 with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
Walton finished the game 5-of-13 passing for 151 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also carried four times for 72 yards.
Berwick jumped back in front on a 12-yard scoring run from Singleton with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter, and Berwick added a two-point pass from Gonzales to Canty for a 22-19 lead.
Gonzales added a touchdown on a 2-yard run with 53 seconds left. Canty’s point-after attempt was good for a 29-19 Berwick lead.
Berwick still led 29-19 at the end of the third quarter, but the ’Jacks’ weren’t done, opening the fourth quarter with a 23-yard pass from Walton to Elijah Williams for a touchdown. After Riveria added the point-after attempt, the Panthers’ lead had been cut to 29-26 with 8:59 remaining in the ballgame.
Singleton finished the game with 14 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Gonzales completed 11-of-15 passes for 161 yards with two scores.
“Like I said earlier, both of these teams kept showing what they are made of,” Walker said. “I hope this lifts our spirit with road games at Lutcher Friday and St. James the following Friday. We know what we’re up against the next couple weeks.”

So close.
The Morgan City High School Tigers were in position to snap a lengthy district losing streak as well as an overall losing streak that dates back to last year.
However, the Tigers were unable to convert golden opportunities, falling 24-21 to Ellender in District 8-4A action in Morgan City Thursday.
“We’re down there knocking on the door twice and we didn’t get in,” Morgan City Coach Chris Stroud said of two lost fumbles inside the 5-yard line on Morgan City possessions. The last one came at the goal line with a chance for Morgan City to retake the lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Stroud said the Tigers weren’t even able to attempt field goals on either drive, noting they have a quality kicker in Helder Hernandez.
Despite the tough ending, Stroud recognized his team’s effort.
“Our kids played their tails off,” he said.
It’s the second straight week Morgan City has played well, Stroud said.
“We’re getting better,” he said. “We’ve got a tough opponent next week, and we’re at fall break, so hopefully the kids will show up at practice and we’ll get ready for Assumption.”
In Thursday’s contest, Morgan City, which led 21-17 after standout Devonta Grogan scored on a 54-yard run on the Tigers’ first offensive play of the third quarter, had a chance to extend its lead on a drive that began after Hilton Hebert recovered an Ellender fumble at the Morgan City 38.
The Tigers (0-5 overall, 0-1 in district) moved the ball down the field, including a 38-yard pass play from quarterback Kane Sanchez to Adrian Garrison that gave the Tigers a first down at the Ellender 20.
However, later in the drive on second and goal at the Morgan City 4, a fumble on the snap was recovered by Ellender (2-4, 1-0).
In the fourth quarter, the Patriots retook the lead at 24-21 with 10:03 remaining on Anthony Foret’s 3-yard run and Man Pham’s extra point.
The Tigers moved down the field and appeared to have retaken the lead as Grogan broke a long run down the Morgan City sideline, but he was ruled out of bounds at the Ellender 2. Three plays later on third down, Grogan carried the football to the goal line but fumbled there, and Ellender recovered in the back of the end zone for a touch back with 6:18 remaining.
“I’m not sure if we didn’t get it to go. I can’t wait to see the film, because I thought we got in twice,” Stroud said, alluding to the long run and the fumble at the goal line. “I don’t know if he stepped out of bounds.”
Following the touchback, the Patriots drained the remainder of the clock to win the game.
Early on, Ellender looked like it may run away with the game as the Patriots jumped out to a 17-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Patriots’ scores came on a 25-yard field goal by Pham on Ellender’s opening possession, while the Patriots added a touchdown on a 16-yard run by O’Ryan James with 4:50 remaining following an interception of Sanchez.
The Patriots scored again with 39.4 seconds remaining on Daviante Scott’s 4-yard run after recovering a Morgan City fumble.
“Our defense stepped up (and) got some great turnovers that put our offense in position to score two more touchdowns,” Ellender Coach David McCormick said.
McCormick also noted the importance of the field goal.
“Over there at Ellender, we don’t make too many field goals, so that was big for us, and it wound up being the difference in the game,” McCormick said.
The big lead wouldn’t stand, though, as the Tigers roared back behind the play of Grogan.
Grogan scored a 35-yard pass play from Sanchez with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter to cut Ellender’s lead to 17-6.
The Tigers scored again on their next possession on 52-yard run by Grogan with 2:14 remaining in the half. Garrison’s two-point run was good to cut Morgan City’s deficit to 17-14.
At halftime, the Patriots had to make some offensive adjustments with the loss of running back Tyshaun Hester due to injury, McCormick said.
For Morgan City, Grogan scored all three of the Tigers’ touchdowns, finishing the game with 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns and another receiving touchdown.
“Morgan City, No. 4 (Devonta Grogan) for them, that kid’s an athlete,” McCormick said. “He doesn’t quit. He’s nonstop the whole game. Those kids worked their butts off. Those kids fought hard, too, and they got themselves in position where they were down by three at halftime.”
As a team, Ellender had 378 yards of offense (315 rushing and 63 passing).
Foret led the run game with 29 carries for 164 yards and one touchdown, while Scott had eight carries for 68 yards and a score.
Morgan City had 275 yards of offense (166 rushing and 109 passing).
Sanchez, who has played late in games the last couple of weeks, started this week at quarterback while the Tigers’ starting quarterback the first five games of the season, Khai Hartley, was used at fullback. He spent some time at quarterback, too.
“He’s a great athlete, and he wants to do anything he can to help the team,” Stroud said of Hartley, who caught a pass for a first down on Morgan City’s final drive of the night.
Thursday, Sanchez completed 6 of 9 passes for 109 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Stroud said the Tigers will continue to use the two quarterbacks going forward.
“We’ll play it by ear how we do it,” he said.
Morgan City will return to action Oct. 18 when it hosts Assumption in District 8-4A play.

CENTERVILLE — “The official count of kindergarten through 12th-grade students in St. Mary Parish is 8,175,” Dr. Theresa Bagwell, St. Mary Parish Schools Superintendent, informed board members in her Superintendent’s Report given at the School Board meeting Thursday night.
This number is a decrease of 67 students from the 2018 count.
“The official student count was taken on Oct. 1 and is used by the Louisiana Department of Education to set budget measures for MFP calculations,” Bagwell said.
MFP stands for Minimum Foundation Program. Under the program, Louisiana annually adopts a formula to equitably allocate funding for education to school districts as a block grant. After satisfying all mandated requirements, school districts have the flexibility to spend the funding to meet the needs of their schools and students.
A decrease in student population could mean a decrease in funding.
A majority of Thursday night’s meeting of the board took place behind closed doors. The executive session was regarding a case styled Boudreaux, et al v. School Board of St. Mary Parish, et al, docket number 6:65-11351, United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division.
Before moving into executive session, the board approved field trips for Berwick High School students to travel to Washington, D.C., for Close-up Foundation and for Franklin Junior High School students to travel to San Antonio, Texas.
The board accepted a proclamation to accept School Bus Safety Week for Oct. 22-26 that was presented by Michael Ortiz.
A proclamation was also accepted for Veterans Day on Nov. 11 stating “that the St. Mary Parish School Board recognizes the contributions of our nation’s military and devoted service to the citizens of the United States and applauds our parish schools who commemorate Veteran’s Day with ceremonies, classroom activities, and moments of silence honoring our heroes,” said Amber Monceaux as she presented the proclamation.

Nearly 4,700 St. Mary people have already cast ballots for Saturday’s primary. Soon it will be time for the rest to vote.
Polls will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday as St. Mary voters help pick statewide officials, state legislators and parishwide office-holders. If you’re in line at 8 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.
A photo ID is required for voting. If you lack an ID, you’ll be asked to fill out an affidavit and permitted to vote.
The general election for any necessary runoffs will be Nov. 16. Early voting will be Nov. 2-9, excluding Sunday.
You can find your voting precinct and a sample ballot at www.GeauxVote.com or the Geaux Vote smartphone app.
Election results can be viewed in real time via GeauxVote Mobile or the secretary of state’s website at www.sos.la.gov.
The Registrar of Voters Office reports that 4,676 St. Mary voters cast early ballots either in person or by mail, or about 14% of the 32,870 registered voters.
Parishes reported brisk numbers in the Sept. 28-Oct. 5 early voting period.
It’s not clear whether that indicates high voter interest or just a desire to beat the lines at the polls.
The hottest race in St. Mary has been for sheriff, where incumbent Blaise Smith is being challenged by Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi and retired Louisiana State Police trooper Todd Pellerin.
Smith edged Grizzaffi out of last year’s runoff to pick a successor for Sheriff Mike Hebert, who had resigned.
Smith went on to beat interim incumbent Scott Anslum in the runoff.
St. Mary voters will also be asked to pick a successor for state Rep. Sam Jones, the Franklin Democrat who is term-limited.
Five candidates qualified to run for the open seat: Raymond Harris, Javon Charles, Vincent St. Blanc, Chet Howard and Shawn Canty.
In District 51, incumbent state Rep. Beryl Amedee, a Republican from Terrebonne Parish, is being challenged by Clayton Voisin.
The St. Mary Parish Council is due for a big turnover in this election. Seven of the 11 seats are on Saturday’s ballot. The only incumbent on Saturday’s ballot is Dale Rogers, who is leaving his current seat to run for At-Large District 9, one of three at-large districts.
Incumbents Craig Mathews, J Ina, Patrick Hebert and James Bennett qualified without opposition.
At the top of the ticket, incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has been the leader in the polls, but it’s not clear whether he can get the primary majority he needs to avoid a runoff with U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham or Eddie Rispone, both Republicans.
Voters will also be asked to approve four constitutional amendments. The amendments would create a property tax exemption for goods bound for the Outer Continental Shelf; add a couple of schools to the eligibility list for the Education Excellence Fund; allow the state tax appeals board to rule on the constitutionality of taxes and rulings; and allow New Orleans to create property tax exemptions for affordable housing.