Patterson tops Berwick 21-16

Patterson jumped out to a 14-point lead and held on to upend local rival Berwick 21-16 in District 8-3A action Friday at Geisler Stadium in Berwick.

Patterson (5-3 overall, 3-0 in district play) opened the scoring after recovering a Berwick fumble, the first of three Panthers turnovers.

The Lumberjacks took over at their own 49-yard line with 8:33 remaining in the first quarter, and after a sack of quarterback Dajon Richard, the junior standout hit Kia Schexnayder for 14 yards on third-and-17 to set up a fourth-and-three situation at the Berwick 40-yard line.

Patterson picked up the first down after Berwick was called for a 5-yard facemask penalty on the next play. Running back Dontre Nicholas broke free from there for a 35-yard touchdown at the 4:06 mark of the first quarter. Bryce Daigle added the first of three point-after kicks for a 7-0 Patterson lead.

Patterson’s defense forced another three-and-out, playing a mixture of zone and man coverage against Berwick’s potent passing attack. Berwick also was without LSU commit Kenan Jones due to an injury.

“We just did some different stuff, played some zone, played some man and played some zone in the middle of the field just trying to slow them down some,” Patterson Coach Ryan Stewart said.

Patterson added to its lead early in the second quarter on a drive that was aided by two 15-yard penalties (a personal foul and pass interference) against Berwick. Nicholas found the end zone again on a 4-yard run at 10:34 mark. Nicholas carried 22 times for 64 yards and two scores in the game.

Berwick (5-3, 1-2) had its best field position following a Patterson turnover on special teams when a punt touched a ’Jacks’ player and the Panthers recovered on Patterson’s 34-yard line with 8:51 remaining in the first half. But the Berwick offense was turned away on a fourth-and-14 situation at 23-yard line.

Berwick got the ball back at the 5:05 mark, and quarterback Mitchell Sanford hit standout receiver Josh Carver five times on the drive, including a 15-yard touchdown with 2:42 left in the first half. Seth Canty added the point-after kick, but Patterson still led 14-7. The Lumberjacks would lead by the same margin at the half.

Sanford was 12 of 35 passing for 139 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Carver had 10 receptions for 138 yards and two scores.
After a Barrett Hover interception stifled Patterson’s first drive of the second half, momentum seemed to be swinging in Berwick’s direction. But Patterson’s defense forced a three-and-out, and Richard hit Irving Celestine for a 47-yard gain, which led to a 1-yard scoring run by Richard with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter to extend Patterson’s lead to 21-7.

“Irving has been making some big plays for us in the passing game the last couple weeks,” Stewart said. “He seems to have a knack for it, and we needed it because Berwick did a real good job of shutting down our rushing attack.”

Patterson rolled up 338 total yards (216 rushing and 122 passing). Richard was 4 of 7 passing for 76 yards, while Randy Paul Jr. was 3 of 5 passing for 46 yards. Richard also carried 24 times for 122 yards and a score. Top Patterson receivers were Celestine and Richard with one catch for 47 and 40 yards, respectively. Drew Lucas added three receptions for 18 yards.

Berwick wasn’t done, grabbing an onside kick attempt at the Patterson 48-yard line. Patterson attempted an onside kick on every kickoff Friday, giving Berwick great field position.

This time, the Panthers made Patterson pay with three chunk plays, a 20-yard pass to Carver, a 15-yard run from Josh Jones and 15-yard touchdown pass to Carver at the 2:35 mark of the third quarter. The point-after kick failed, however, for a 21-13 Patterson lead.

Josh Jones was Berwick‘s leading rusher with 12 totes for 76 yards, while Sanford carried 12 times for 35 yards.

Patterson turned the ball over on downs, and Canty hit a 30-yard field goal with 11:29 left in the contest to make it a one-score game at 21-16.
Patterson followed with a nine-play drive before punting with 6:25 remaining.

Berwick got a 25-yard run from Josh Jones and a 10-yarder from Sanford to setup a first-and-10 at the Patterson 34-yard line. But Richard intercepted Sanford’s next pass to give the ball back to the ‘Jacks’ with 5:13 remaining.

Patterson’s defense made another fourth-down stop at the 1:20 mark but was forced to punt again.

Richard, however, uncoiled a 50-yard punt, pushing Berwick deep in its own territory with 33 seconds left. Berwick missed on four passes to end the game.
The Panthers had 250 total yards (111 rushing and 139 passing).

“They were a better team than us tonight,” Berwick Coach Eric Holden said.

Both teams will continue district play Friday as Berwick travels to Abbeville, while Patterson will host Erath.