Lorio wants to show Tigers short turnaround
August 29, 2013
Eagles want to resurface in 1A
August 29, 2013
Baby steps are what the Berwick football team is taking in an attempt to build up a program that’s been down for about as long as anyone can remember.
The Panthers are coming off a one-win season last year, which is one more victory than the school had in all of 2011. In the Panthers’ nine losses last season, they were outscored by an average of 29 points per game.
So before the team can start winning more games, it must first become competitive in them. If anyone can help make that happen, it is Berwick’s coach, Craig Brodie.
Brodie was an assistant coach at Catholic-New Iberia and was part of a team that reached the state semi-finals. He then helped build Westgate’s varsity football program from the ground up and eventually took them to the state semi-finals.
Now in his third year at Berwick, Brodie believes the Panthers have made gradual improvements and hopes the team isn’t far from turning a corner on the field.
“We have been struggling for a long time at this school, but this year I think we have a more favorable schedule in front of us where we can start having some success on the scoreboard,” Brodie said. “I think the players are excited. After the long summer, they’re excited to get the pads on and get out there and get going. I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm and the kids who’ve been with me for three years now are working hard. They see that we have a chance to have some success on the field this year.”
Berwick’s players agree, saying the team is driven and ready to get started.
“I think we’re going to have a good time this year,” senior quarterback Bobby Boudreaux said. “We’re a lot more disciplined than we have been. We’re playing together instead of as individuals like we used to. We’re very hungry and very anxious (to start).”
“I feel like everybody here has good confidence in what we do,” added junior Justin Morvant. “We’re all pumped and ready to play and have a real good vibe about us this year.”
The biggest challenge Brodie has faced since arriving at the school in 2011, he said, has just been teaching his kids how to play the game.
It’s been a learning experience for everyone on the team, particularly the upper class, which features 11 seniors and 14 juniors.
“Here, I think it’s just that football wasn’t very successful and it just is going to take a little time for me to keep them together, and keep the numbers and the interest up,” Brodie said. “It’s hard. These seniors have only won three games in high school, so I think they’re pretty hungry.
“They’ve just got to continue to learn the game,” he added. “We’ve got to put them in situations where they’re going to be successful. We’ve changed our offense and defense a little bit to just try to fill out our type of players.”
To that end, Berwick figures to run a variation of a Wing-T/veer offense that focuses on more downhill running mixed in with some play-action passes.
The Panthers return six starters on offense. Bobby Boudreaux returns to lead the Panthers behind center and will get most of the snaps. Junior Jeremy Boudreaux could also see playing time.
In the receiving corps, junior Brandon Naverro is a tall, athletic 6-foot-4 wide-out with experience in the open field, while Drew Landry, Brooks Richard and Brice Benedietto are senior receivers that also give the Panthers some options.
In the ground game, the Panthers are excited about the emergence of freshman Druvan Robinson, who at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds expects to see snaps at fullback.
Morvant, a multi-purpose junior, is a talented base player on both sides of the ball and expects to line up at both running back and receiver on offense in addition to starring in the Panthers’ secondary on defense.
“Morvant is one of our best football players,” Brodie said. “He does a great job on defense for us and is a real good play-maker on offense. He plays a rover (on defense). You can put him all over the place and he makes plays. He’s a hard-hitting kid with a tough nose. Pound for pound, he’s one of the toughest kids we have.”
On the other side of the ball, the Panthers return five starters from last year and have switched to a 3-4 defense after attempting to play a base 4-3 a season ago.
The most experienced unit of the defense is likely the secondary, where Morvant, Richard and Rogers all return.
Senior Dontrell Clark and junior Seth Legendre return in the front seven as defensive linemen primarily.
“We’re kind of looking at different things right now, but I like what I’ve seen so far,” Brodie said of the defense. “(The 3-4) creates a lot of confusion and it’s an easy defense to adjust to whatever someone puts in front of us, so it’s pretty balanced all around.”
Berwick opens its season Aug. 30 at Morgan City.
Berwick High School starters (from left) TyVon Batiste, Bobby Boudreaux and Justin Morvant take a photo before taking the field for a workout. The Panthers are trying to fix their program after multiple unsuccessful seasons.
