Tom Dodge
Just about everything that could go wrong for the Blue Jays against Bunkie did go wrong, but St. Edmund still had a chance to win.
The Blue Jays suffered two lost fumbles, two interceptions and was held to 53 yards of total offense.
St. Edmund failed to convert on all 12 third down attempts and was limited to four first downs.
But it took a fourth quarter touchdown by the Panthers for Bunkie to grab a 14-9 win.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” St. Edmund head coach James Shiver said. “But even with all the mistakes we had, we still had the lead at 9-7 with three minutes left in the game.
“So I really feel the effort is there, we need to get better offensively,” the coach said.
Now St. Edmund looks to rebound against Avoyelles on Friday in the Jays’ first home game of the season.
“This is a tough team to face because of their size,” Shiver said. “They run every play behind their big linemen.
“We aren’t that big, we are more a finesse team.” the coach said.
“If our offense can score enough points and produce like I think we are capable of doing, then I think we can stay in the game with them,” Shiver said.
Avoyelles opened the season with a 36-28 win over Beau Chene before falling 36-16 to Marksville.
In the win over the Gators, the Mustangs ran the ball 64 times for 430 yards with just three passes with one completion – a 25-yard touchdown.
“We can compete with everyone left on our schedule,” Shiver said. “We need to survive after playing these bigger teams.
“We need to feel confident about our offense,” the coach said. “We are looking to get better every day and never give up.”