Tom Dodge
It’s homecoming week at St. Edmund as the Blue Jays will entertain North Central in a key District 5-1A contest.
St. Edmund (3-3, 0-1) opened district play last week with a 35-6 loss to No. 7 Opelousas Catholic, but Blue Jay head coach James Shiver feels his team will rebound against the Hurricanes.
“They have some great athletes,” Shiver said. “But playing the spread all year should help us be ready.”
North Central (1-5, 0-1) opened the season with a 20-16 loss to Grand Lake before a forfeit win over Tara.
The Hurricanes then fell to Mentorship Academy (60-0), Ville Platte (53-12) and Springfield (49-6).
North Central began district play last week with a 31-18 loss to Westminster Christian Academy.
“We feel good about the rest of the season,” Shiver said of the last four games against North Central, Sacred Heart of Ville Platte, Westminster Christian Academy and Catholic High of Pointe Coupee.
“I don’t know if anybody catches Opelousas Catholic, but I think we can matches up with the rest of our district.
“If we can win the next four games we will have met our goal of getting a home playoff game – who knows what can happen after that.”
Presently, the Blue Jays are ranked ninth in the LHSAA Divsion IV power rankings and the top eight teams host in the first round of the playoffs.
“I think it could come down to week 10 when we face Catholic of Pointe Coupee to see who finishes second in district behind OC.”
St. Edmund allowed 464 total yards against the Vikings, but ran for 190 yards.
“We should be able to control the game against North Central with our offense running the ball well.”
For Shiver, he sees both good and bad about homecoming.
“Our whole school is built on tradition so when the alumni start coming back - the team wants to play well in front of them,” he said. “But the homecoming events can be a distraction; especially with social media.”