Kaplan whips Berwick

KAPLAN — On a night that saw a nearly two-hour lightning delay in the third quarter, the Kaplan High Pirates dominated Berwick with a 38-19 win to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
The score could easily have been much more lopsided had the game not been canceled with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter of Thursday’s game.
Kaplan, which had already racked up 396 total yards to Berwick’s 172 yards, was facing a second-and-goal at the BHS 1-yard line when yet another lightning strike led to a delay, and after a few minutes, Berwick opted to end the game there, giving the Pirates the win.
“It’s awesome to be in a place like this where we had a two-hour delay, and we still had all these fans in the stands supporting our boys, and not leaving, not going home,” Kaplan coach Cory Brodie said. “It’s another day I’m proud to be the football coach at Kaplan High School.”
And for the second straight week, a Kaplan runner finished with more than 200 yards on the ground. One week after fullback Jed Devoltz led Kaplan to an 18-14 win at North Vermilion, rushing for 231 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, it was wingback Daylon Landry’s turn.
Landry carried the ball 16 times for 233 yards and a pair of TDs, one covering 65 yards and the other going 38 yards. He also had a 57-yard run to the BHS 8-yard line to set up a touchdown, and had a 42-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Sabe David for 281 total yards.
“We challenged Daylon a lot this week,” Brodie said. “Coming into it I thought he was going to be our guy, and he had 11 carries for under 40 yards against North Vermilion. He’s just one of those kids where I can get on him and he took it personally and he responded.
“He wanted the football, and he just had a huge game for us. I think if we had played four quarters, he would’ve eclipsed that 300 yard mark. I’m pretty positive not too many teams have had two guys go back-to-back weeks go over 200.”
Landry said he was a little disappointed he didn’t get to carry the ball a few more times.
“I think I’d have gotten better if the game had lasted a little bit longer,” Landry said, adding the Pirates need to stay focused and practice harder to keep on the winning track.
Devoltz rushed for 63 yards on eight carries and Bradyn Bearb had 31 yards and a TD on five runs. Tight end Carter Petry added 10 yards and a touchdown on three totes, with Devoltz getting one 2-point conversion, Petry running the ball in twice for 2 points and Landry also scoring a 2-point conversion.
Coy Terro had an interception for Kaplan.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, Devoltz was hurt when he was brought down at the end of a 26-yard run just before half. The fullback and defensive lineman apparently suffered a dislocated elbow, but the extent of the injury and the time it will take for him to return was unknown at press time.
Brodie said the worst thing about the injury is it’s Devoltz’s senior season, and he might be playing his last year of football.
“We’re all praying about it,” Brodie said. “We’re all making sure we’re there for Jed.
“We just hope that it’s a couple of weeks instead of a couple of months. But he’s a tough kid. He comes from a tough family, so I know he’s going to be out there as soon as humanly possible.”
Brodie said that it’s great to be 2-0, and to have beaten two teams that beat the Pirates the year before. Berwick won 36-8 in 2022, but Kaplan completely dominated on Thursday night.
Namon Bennett had 52 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries for Berwick and Cole Morris had 50 yards and a TD on 11 runs. Quarterback Evan Crappell threw for 70 yards, including a 45-yard TD to Carter Whipple, but completed only three of 10 pass attempts.
“Just a great job by our guys of being able to focus on a short week,” Brodie said. “We had off of school on Monday, so we had two practices (Sunday and Monday) without school, and we had great attendance. That’s kind of been our mentality. I think we won this game earlier in the week, so that’s nice.
“The kids are super confident. Last year I think we were young. Them just kind of getting beat up last year helped them this year, knowing what we need to do to get better.”
Kaplan is scheduled to play LaGrange at home on Friday.