The Berrien Springs High School varsity football team opened its 2026 season in impressive fashion Friday night, jumping on the Benton Harbor Tigers early and cruising on to a 51-6 road victory at Filstrup Field.
The Shamrocks entered the season with an experienced roster, returning seven starters on both sides of the football from last year’s 7-3 team. That experience showed immediately as Berrien Springs controlled the game in all three phases.
Berrien Springs got on the scoreboard with 10:55 remaining in the opening quarter when junior Steven Vazquez recorded a safety to give the Shamrocks a 2-0 advantage.
Vazquez then found the end zone on offense, scoring on a one-yard run with 8:31 remaining. Quarterback Braelin Hurst added the extra point for a 9-0 lead.
The Shamrocks continued to pull away when Hurst connected with Darrin O’Dell for a 13-yard touchdown with 4:15 left in the opening quarter. Hurst’s extra point pushed the advantage to 16-0.
The Benton Harbor Tigers answered with its lone score of the night, breaking free for a 71-yard touchdown with 3:58 remaining in the first. The Tigers’ two-point attempt was unsuccessful, cutting the Berrien Springs lead to 16-6.
The response from the Shamrocks was immediate. Vazquez scored his second rushing touchdown of the quarter from one yard out with 1:15 remaining, and Hurst’s extra point made it 23-6 after one.
Berrien Springs continued to dominate in the second quarter.
Hurst scored on a six-yard run with 10:17 remaining to extend the lead to 30-6. Gabriel Clinton followed with a 17-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later.
The Shamrock defense then helped set up two more scores before halftime.
Louis Rome intercepted a Benton Harbor pass and returned it to the Tigers’ three-yard line. The Berrien Springs Shamrocks capitalized when Hurst connected with Sin-zcere Crowley for a 10-yard touchdown with 7:21 remaining.
Later in the quarter, O’Dell added another interception and returned it to the Benton Harbor eight-yard line. Hurst finished the short drive himself with an eight-yard touchdown run with 1:09 remaining.
The offensive production complemented a defense that created turnovers, consistently gave the offense favorable field position, and held Benton Harbor to just six points.
The performance was an encouraging start for a Berrien Springs team that came into the year expecting its experience to be a strength. Junior quarterback Hurst returned after seeing significant varsity action last season, while the Shamrocks brought back a veteran group around him. Before the opener, Hurst credited offseason preparation and work in the weight room with helping slow the game down for him entering his second season of varsity action.
Scoring was as follows: Steven Vazquez — safety; Vazquez — 1-yard TD run; Braelin Hurst — 13-yard TD pass to Darrin O’Dell; Vazquez — 1-yard TD run; Hurst — 6-yard TD run; Gabriel Clinton — 17-yard TD run; Hurst — 10-yard TD pass to Sin-zcere Crowley; Hurst — 8-yard TD run. Hurst handled the Shamrocks’ extra-point attempts.
Berrien Springs improved to 1-0 with the victory and will now turn its attention to its home opener.
The Shamrocks host Otsego on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at Sylvester Stadium. Otsego opened its season Thursday with a 13-12 victory over Battle Creek Pennfield.
The game will begin a two-game homestand for Berrien Springs, with Melrose Park Walther Christian visiting Sylvester Stadium the following week.
