Green Devils struggle without Berthelot at quarterback
By CHRIS GIRANDOLA
Published September 4, 2005
Imagine Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning going down with an injury two weeks before the season opener.
Now envision All-Pro wide receiver Marvin Harrison sliding over to take his place, with no experience under center. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
For St. Petersburg, crazy is an understatement. When starting quarterback Stephen Berthelot suffered a severe sprain to his left foot three weeks ago, it put a major halt to the Green Devils' attack, leading to two straight losses.
Having lost its starting quarterback of three years to graduation, the Green Devils were depending on Berthelot to assume the leadership role vacated by Jarod Palotti.
Berthelot attended numerous elite quarterback camps in the summer to hone his skills and was expecting to team up with wide receiver Donald Bowens and running back Robert Blanks to form one of the best three-man punches in the county.
St. Petersburg coach Todd St. Louis decided to move the 6-3, 195-pound Bowens under center to take advantage of his height and athletic ability, though Bowens had never played the position.
But that left St. Petersburg without its main threat in the passing game. In addition, the Green Devils had to replace Berthelot at punter and free safety.
"The biggest problem was trying to replace him, both on offense and defense," St. Louis said. "There wasn't enough repetitions (for Bowen) to make the offense click the way it had been."
Through the first two weeks of the season, weaknesses were exposed. In Week 1, the Green Devils fell victim to penalties, turnovers and miscues in a 54-20 loss to Northeast. Bowens passed for 8 yards on 1 of 5 attempts. St. Petersburg clearly missed Berthelot on punts, as his replacements averaged less than 20 yards a kick.
The woes continued Friday, as the passing game was nonexistent and East Lake converted two turnovers into points in a 17-14 win.
But all is not lost. The Green Devils have yet to play a district game and Berthelot is expected to return Sept. 9 against Countryside.
"I'll do anything to help the team out," Bowens said. "But, sure, once (Berthelot) gets back, then everything will come together again. He knows how to play the game and get me the ball."
