Delcambre football fans breathed a collective sigh of relief last week as the Panthers defeated Berchmans Academy, 47-0, to mark the first win since Oct. 2022.

The victory came after a Week 1 loss to Centerville. According to head coach Artie Liuzza, the preparation for the Week 2 matchup proved to be challenging on both sides of the ball.

“Defensively, we definitely have to prepare for what they’re trying to do on offense. We had the jamboree and Week 1 film, but both of them were in sloppy conditions so it was hard to get a good look there,” Liuzza explained. “We only got to practice Monday and Thursday in preparation, so on offense you basically just try to get better at what you do. You have an idea of how they’re going to line up against you, but that can change from week to week.”

The Panthers got the game started early, scoring from a one-yard rush by Alex Larson before Hugo Morales’ eight-yard run and the ensuing two-point conversion gave Delcambre an early 14-point lead.

Two touchdowns from Tucker Zagar (11-yard and 23-yard passes) and a 22-yard run from Maddox Gary gave the Panthers a commanding 34-0 lead going into the halftime break, where Liuzza made the most of his small roster to swap out as many players as possible.

“In the second half we put in a lot of guys who are backups in certain positions or may have to play a different position due to injury at some point,” he said. “We want to give them a lot of game experience and they did a good job of holding Berchamnas out of the endzone. Our defense did great and I’m proud of our young guys. It’s always good to see them play.”

Nave Nguyen’s five-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter and Maddox Gary’s 15-yard run in the fourth sealed the victory for Delcambre.

The win comes as many teams around South Louisiana were forced to cancel their Week 2 contests due to Hurricane Francine. For Liuzza, having such a small squad adds extra importance to any games his team can play throughout the season.

“We have to have game experience because we have so few guys at practice that it’s hard to get 11-on-11 looks all the time,” Liuzza said. “Any opponent that we can play on Friday night is going to make us better.”

Sophomore QB Rix Robin, a varsity starter last season, showed marked improvement against Berchmans, completing two of four pass attempts for 34 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Robin also racked up 36 yards from two carries.

Hugo Morales led the team is rushing yards with 108 from 10 carries and one touchdown. Maddox Gary’s two touchdowns came from six carries where he earned 72 yards. Nave Nguyen (9-63, 1 TD) and Alex Larson (6-40, 1 TD) also impressed on the ground.

Tucker Zagar was Robin’s primary target through the air, with the junior ending the game with two receptions for 34 yards and two touchdowns. Zagar also recorded one interception, as did Daivyan Hypolite, Genesis Tolentino and Kamden Langlinais.

The Panthers will return to action on Friday with a home contest against Class 4A Beau Chene. The game marks the midpoint of Delcambre’s non-district schedule, where wins are a must.

“Hopefully they can be competitive games,” Liuzza said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot early on against Centerville on defense and we were able to tighten up the reins in the second half. We were able to do a decent job again tonight and, going forward, we’re going to have to rely heavily on our defense and try to control the clock on offense.”