Tom Dodge
St. Edmund ends its non-district part of the season Friday when the Blue Jays entertain the Ville Platte Bulldogs.
“It is important for us to enter district on a high note with a win,” St. Edmund head coach James Shiver said.
Ville Platte (2-2) earned a 53-12 win over North Central.
The Bulldogs scored on four straight possessions in the first half and three of their first four in the second half before sealing the win with a defensive touchdown.
Ville Platte finished with 236 yards rushing, led by Jahmal Byers’ 132 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Byers also had a 77-yard touchdown reception.
Bulldog quarterback Terrian Roy added 73 yards and two more scores.
The Ville Platte defense snagged three interceptions and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
“Ville Platte is very talented with a real good quarterback, as well as their running backs and receivers are good,” Shiver said. “They have a good offense, but I like our defense.”
St. Edmund (2-2) is coming off a 47-0 win over Highland Baptist as the Blue Jays outgained the Bears 396 - 174.
“It was a good win for us,” Shiver said. “We had a lot of success running the ball and we stopped them on defense.”
Peyton Marcantel accounted for 241 yards of total offense including a 50-yard touchdown run.
Ville Platte opened the season with a 34-14 win over rival Sacred Heart, but then had back-to-back losses to Grand Lake (22-7) and Eunice (47-6) before rebounding against North Central.
“I think we are doing well so far this season,” Shiver said his Blue Jays. “We should have pulled out the game against Bunkie (14-9 loss) and we would be 3-1.
“Our first district game is against OC and you don’t want go in on a down note,” he said. “They are very good and we know it’s a rivalry game.”
But Shiver said his team is not looking past Ville Platte.