Berwick, Patterson win jamboree contests

Berwick and Patterson were the winners of the Morgan City Jamboree Friday at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
In the opener, Berwick held off White Castle’s second-half rally for a 27-24 win.
The Panthers opened the game with a 12-yard run by Barrett Hover and 42-yard touchdown run by Josh Jones to take the early lead. Seth Canty added the point-after kick for a 7-0 margin.
White Castle answered with 30-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tahj Favorite to Unique Young at the 11:38 mark but missed the two-point conversion for a 7-6 Berwick lead.
That’s when the Panthers took over the game with a 14-point swing.
Jones recovered a Bulldog fumble and raced 25 for another Berwick score at 8:51 mark, while quarterback Mitchell Sanford hooked up with Hover on a 22-yard touchdown pass to push the Berwick lead to 21-6 at halftime.
The teams played two 15-minute quarters in each game.
“I thought we did a good job in the first half in all three phases,” first-year Berwick Coach Mike Walker said. “White Castle did a good job of making some adjustments in the second half to close the gap. I’m proud of our guys for holding on and winning, but there were a bunch of things to fix.”
White Castle’s offense came to life in the second half.
The Bulldogs converted a Jones fumble into a touchdown at the 7:06 mark when Favorite hit Baptiste for a 5-yard score. White Castle added a 2-point conversion to pull to one score, 21-14, at the 7:06 mark.
But Berwick took over at the 7-minute mark and went on an eight play, 63-yard drive that Sanford capped with a 2-yard scoring run with 4:48 remaining. Berwick missed the point-after attempt for a 27-14 lead.
White Castle added a rushing score and a two-point conversion with just 42 seconds left in the game.
Jones led the Panthers’ rushing attack with nine carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Sanford was 1-of-7 passing for 22 yards and a score.
Berwick will open its season Friday when it hosts Morgan City at Geisler Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
In the finale, Patterson upended Morgan City 26-7.
The Lumberjacks opened the game with a run/pass mix that ended when quarterback Randy Paul found Irvin Celestine for a 21-yard touchdown. Jose Rivera added the point-after kick for a 7-0 lead with 12:50 remaining in the first half.
Morgan City fumbled the following kickoff, and Kai Schexnayder recovered and raced in for a touchdown at the 12:41 mark for a 14-0 Patterson lead.
The Tigers began to find their footing, going on eight-play and seven-play drives with the latter ending with quarterback Tate Alcina’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Grogan. Following the extra point by Andy Rangel, Patterson lead was cut to 14-7.
“Offensively, we had some success running the ball and moving the sticks,” Morgan City Coach Chris Stroud said. “I’m proud of the kids. They’re working hard in practice, doing the right things, and we showed some improvement.”
After the touchdown, Patterson standout Dajon Richard took the kickoff and dashed 55 yards to the Tigers’ 20-yard line.
Paul tossed a 20-yard touchdown to Celestine with 55 seconds left in the first half to push the ‘Jacks’ lead to 21-7.
After forcing a Tiger punt to open the second half, Patterson’s James Butler took a handoff and raced 75 yards for a touchdown with 10:57 remaining for the game’s final score.
Richard was Patterson’s leading rusher with six carries for 78 yards, while Butler had 75 yards and a touchdown.
Paul was 5-of-7 passing for 69 yards and two touchdowns, while Celestine had three catches for 49 and two scores.
“I saw a lot of mistakes, but I also saw good things, too,” first-year Patterson Coach Don Jones said. “We didn’t do anything fancy, only a couple formations, etc. We wanted to get something on tape to look at as we game plan this week.”
Patterson travels to Franklin Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Alcina led Morgan City, completing 4-of-7 passes for 62 yards and a score, while Deandre Grogan had two catches for 42 yards and Devonta Grogan had two catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Mitchell Mancuso was Morgan City’s leading rusher with four carries for 34 yards.