Tom Dodge
The Blue Jays moved up to fourth place in the Division IV power rankings after a 35-34 win over Natchitoches Central – the first victory for St. Edmund over a Class 5-A program.
“We got up 21-7 at half before they came back in the third quarter,” St. Edmund head coach James Shiver said of last week’s game against the Chiefs.
“I was proud of the way that our guys didn’t give up as we kept battling and held on to win it.
“We overcame our mistakes (two lost fumbles, an interception and 54 penalty yards) and made big plays when we needed them.”
Luke Trahan scored on a 78-yard interception return, while on offense St. Edmund quarterback Henry Brown completed 6-of-8 passes for 165 yards including four touchdowns in the win over Natchitoches Central.
Blue Jay wide receiver Gus Brown had three catches for 108 yards including a 68-yard touchdown.
“I like the way our offense is that the defenses can’t key on just one person,” Shiver said.
“If they put seven in the box to try and stop Kieran then we can throw for about 200 yards,” Shiver said. “If the defenses try and defend the pass then we can run for 200 yards.
The Blue Jays are averaging 39 points and 322 yards of total offense per game so far this season - 173.7 yards rushing and 148.3 yards passing.
St. Edmund opens District 5-1A competition Friday against North Central for homecoming.
The Blue Jays were supposed to open district play last week against Opelousas Catholic, but the Vikings had to cancel due to COVID-19 issues.
North Central is 0-3 this season with losses to Mentorship Academy (46-13) and Springfield (46-6) before opening district with a 46-12 loss to Westminster Christian Academy.
“They have several good athletes,” Shiver said of the Hurricanes. “They moved the ball early against Westminster before the Crusaders ending up with a blowout.”