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Berwick High School's Josh Jones carries the football during nondistrict action against Ascension Episcopal. The Panthers fell Friday to Kaplan High School in District 8-3A action on the road. Berwick (5-1 overall, 1-1 in district) will return home for its next District 8-3A contest when it hosts area rival Patterson High Friday at 7 p.m. (The Daily Review/Bill Decker)

Dominant second half leads Kaplan to upset of Berwick

The Berwick Panthers seemed to be in control of Friday’s District 8-3A contest, rallying from a 16-7 deficit to take a 28-16 halftime advantage.
But as quickly as Berwick rallied in the first half, Kaplan shut the door on the Panther’s offense in the second half and turned up its own play, outscoring Berwick 30-0 in the second half for a 46-28 win in Kaplan.
Kaplan (3-3 overall, 2-0 in district) scored touchdowns on four of its five second-half possessions, all using its ground game. The Pirates, which totaled 530 rushing yards, received two touchdowns from Mac Thibeaux, one from Matt Roden and another on a fumble that quarterback Trae Case recovered in the end zone for the final score.
Meanwhile, the Pirates held Berwick (5-2, 1-1) to 12 yards in the second half and no first downs.
Kaplan’s second-half began with an 11-play, 65-yard drive to open the second half that was capped by Roden’s 7-yard run with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter. The Pirates’ two-point conversion was good to cut Berwick’s lead to 28-24.
In the fourth quarter, Kaplan scored three times, once on Thibeaux’s 52-yard run with 9:49 remaining and again with 4:29 left on Thibeaux’s 10-yard run with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter. The Pirates converted two point conversions on both possessions for a 40-28 lead.
The Pirates final score came after the team recovered a kickoff and scored when Case recovered a fumble in the end zone with 1:36 remaining. Kaplan’s point-after attempt was no good for the final margin.
Despite a quite second half, Berwick had quite a productive first 24 minutes as quarterback Mitchell Sanford tossed three touchdowns passes and ran for another.
Berwick scored on its opening possession when Sanford concluded the drive with a 31-yard run with 10:51 remaining in the opening period. Seth Canty, who was 4-for-4 on point-after attempts, converted his first of the night for a 7-0 Berwick lead.
Kaplan needed just four offensive plays to respond as Thibeaux raced 62 yards to the end zone on a fourth down play. The Pirates converted the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead with 8:42 remaining in the first quarter.
After recovering a Berwick fumble on its next drive at the Kaplan 29, the Pirates marched 71 yards in five plays, capped by Drake Abshire’s 29-yard run with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Pirates’ two-point run was good for a 16-7 lead.
Berwick scored on its next three drives to take a 12-point lead.
Sanford connected with Jones on a 43-yard pass at the 3:19 mark of the first quarter, with Joshua Carver early in the second quarter on a 57-yard pass play and again later in the quarter with Jones on a 6-yard pass with 5:48 remaining for the 28-16 lead.
Sanford completed 16 of 37 passes for 262 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed five times for 50 yards and a score.
Carver led the Panthers’ receivers with four catches for 101 yards and a score, while Jones had five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Berwick will continue league play Friday when it hosts Patterson.

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