Tom Dodge
BASILE – It all started with a 30-minute lightning delay just prior to the kickoff between the Blue Jays and the Bearcats.
It finished with the thunder of the St. Edmund defense earning a 14-0 shutout over No. 10 Basile in the District 4-1A opener.
The rain through the first quarter helped the field to be sloppy and slow, but the Blue Jays used it to their benefit.
Basile moved the ball 30 yards in eight plays on tje opening drive but the Bearcats were forced to punt.
The Jays were also forced to punt on their first posession as the two teams fought for field position.
After another Bearcat punt, the Blue Jays responded when Brad Miller raced 48 yards the end zone on the next play.
Payton Marcantel’s PAT pushed St. Edmund ahead 7-0 with 2:11 left in the first period.
The Blue Jay defense again stood tall as Carter Lejeune picked off a Bearcat pass to give St. Edmund the ball at the Basile 45.
The Bearcat defense responded with a stand to force a Blue Jay punt.
Again the St. Edmund defense answered as Luke Trahan intercepted a pass to stop the Basile offense.
After another Blue Jay punt, Basile mounted its best possession of the game with a 17-play drive.
The drive was aided by a roughing the punter penalty and the Bearcats then moved the ball on the ground with Andre Reed.
After a tackle for a loss, the Bearcats couldn’t connect on a pass to the endzone from Dawson Ardoin to Isaiah Ceaser.
The Blue Jays then stopped the drive with an interception at the St. Edmund 2.
The Blue Jays ran out the final 2:26 in the second period to take a 7-0 lead into the intermission.
The defenses dominated the third period as the two teams exchanged several punts.
The Bearcats had a great opportunity when St. Edmund punter Marcantel’s knee was ruled down at the Blue Jay 36 with 1:48 left in the third period.
Basile moved the ball just six yards and the Blue Jays stopped Ashford two yards short on fourth down with 33 seconds left in the third period.
St. Edmund’s offense then mounted a time-consuming, 70-yard drive to seal the win.
On fourth-and-seven at the Bearcat 28, Brad Miller raced to the Basile 11.
On the next play, Miller moved the ball to the 5 before fumbling and John Smith pounced on the loose ball to keep the drive alive.
Miller then scored and Marcantel’s kick gave the Jays a 14-0 margin with 8:31 left in the game.
The Bearcats fought to move the ball to near midfield on the next drive, but the Blue Jay defense forced a quarterback sack on fourth down to get the ball back at the Bearcat 39 with 6:20 remaining.
St. Edmund moved to the Bearcat 1 in just four plays, sparked by a 32-yard run by Brock Bieber.
But on second-and-goal, the ball was fumbled into the end zone and recovered by the Bearcats defense.
The Basile offense took over at the Bearcat 20 with 4:44 left and quickly took advantage of a roughing the quarterback penalty.
But a quarterback sack from Bieber was followed by three straight incomplete passes as the Blue Jay defense held.
With the ball at the Basile 34, St. Edmund then ran out the final 3:11 to cap the shutout victory.
Miller finished with 120 yards on 20 carries, while Bieber added 51 yards on eight carries.
Reed finished with 60 yards on 13 carries as the Bearcats fell to 2-2 on the season.
Sr. Edmund (3-1) will celebrate homecoming Friday against South Cameron.
Basile will travel to Merryville.