Berwick Panthers look to rewrite school football program’s history

Finishing 2-8 (0-4 in District 7-3A) is hardly considered an improvement for most teams, but for the Berwick Panthers it was a step in the right direction.

When second-year head coach Mike Thomas took the helm last season, he inherited a team that hadn’t won a game the year before.

Or the year before that, either.

Despite the odds, Thomas saw a team with potential when he moved into the head-coaching job, and he hopes to use 2007’s two wins as a steppingstone toward respectability.

Thomas has already seen signs of change; 51 players are on this year’s roster, the most the coach has seen since he originally arrived at the school as a coaching assistant nearly six years ago.

Thomas intends to use the numbers to his advantage; especially considering last year a number of guys played the entire game on both sides of the ball.

“Instead of having people play 48 minutes of a football game, we’ll try and put an offensive team in and a defensive team the best that we can to give some of the starters a break,” the coach explained. “I feel the kids have worked hard all year starting in January and into the summer as far as weight lifting and the conditioning.”

The biggest thing this Panthers team has over past teams is experience.

Thomas has nine returning starters on offense. Last year’s run-oriented Wing-T offense has been replaced with a more balanced, multi- look. Leading the unit is returning quarterback Seth Anslem.

“Right now, we have some guys that we feel their best contributions to the team are in open spaces on offense,” Thomas said. “We are trying to put something together that utilizes their athletic ability. That’s what we’ve done in the spring and that’s what we started to do this fall.”

Anslem also has his two biggest weapons returning, tailback Jarad Loston and fullback Theron Madise, as well as tight end Michael Skelton and split end Chas Cranford.

Up front, the Panthers return three linemen: Stuart Kraemer (center), Logan Barrilleaux (right guard) and Shawn Marcell (right tackle).

Left tackle Mark Lapointe and left guard Clayton Dimaggio join wide receiver Melvin Butler in the Panthers’ starting rotation.

Defensively, the Panthers are sticking to the 4-3 defense.

The defense also returns nine starters.

Defensive end Beau Bourgeois; linebackers Dylan Barrilleaux, Kaleb Jett and Skelton; defensive tackle Jordan Acosta; cornerbacks Jimmy Fry and Miles Liner; free safety Cranford and strong safety Keifer Sanders look to bring their experience to the Panthers’ defense.

Joining them are newcomers Keytrone Jones (defensive end) and Trey Hebert (defensive tackle).

The linebackers are the spine of Thomas’ defensive package. He believes the Panthers have the speed at linebacker to make the needed plays, which is why he elected to go with the four-linemen and three-linebacker formation.

“With our scheme, if those tackles can take on a double team, then it leaves the linebackers free,” he explained. “Our defense is built around the linebackers. If we have guys that are individually blocked, that’s not doing us any good because we can’t attack. … We want (the line) to take on the double team so it leaves linebackers free.”

As the season approaches, Thomas said the intensity surrounding Berwick High School’s football program is palpable. In fact, the coach said this year’s team could be the one to write a different chapter in the history of Berwick football.

With district games against Patterson, E.D. White, Franklin and West St. Mary, Thomas knows his team has a tough road ahead. It’s a matter of continuing to work hard and “learning how to win everyday, not just on Friday nights,” he said.

“As hard as they have worked, they deserve to be the one’s to turn this around,” Thomas said. “I think we must have the mindset that we are supposed to be here. We’ve worked hard just like everybody else, so why can’t we win. We have a slogan that says, ‘If not us, then who.’ They’ve seen the bad side of Berwick football, now we want to show them the good side.”