Tom Dodge
VILLE PLATTE – It was a chance to spoil the Bulldogs’ homecoming celebration Thrusday night and the Blue Jays did just that as St. Edmund cruised to a 54-0 win over Ville Platte.
The Bulldogs originally selected North Central as their homecoming game but Hurricane Delta forced a cancellation of that contest.
After forcing Ville Platte to punt on its opening possession, the Blue Jays went 62 yards in nine plays for the game’s first points.
St. Edmund lost a fumble on the drive, but too many men on the field against the Bulldogs allowed the Jays to keep the possession.
St. Ed’s quarterback Henry Brown connected with Easten Coleman for an 18-yard pass play to move the ball to the Ville Platte 23.
Kieran Davis ran the ball the next four plays including a 1-yard run for the score.
The PAT failed, but the Blue Jays led 6-0 with 6:17 left in the first period.
Dominic Prudhomme recovered Justin Landry’s bouncing kickoff as the Blue Jays had first-and-goal at the Bulldog 9.
Ville Platte recovered a Blue Jay fumble on the next play to get the ball back at their own six yard line.
But two plays later, St. Ed’s Easten Coleman recovered a Ville Platte fumble and scored from six yards out.
Landry’s PAT increased the Blue Jays’ lead to 13-0 with 5:13 remaining in the quarter.
Both teams were stopped on fourth down on their next drives, including a Blue Jay play that was stopped inches short on fourth down at the Ville Platte 30.
The Bulldogs were later forced to punt and St. Edmund then began a 65-yard drive.
A long run by Davis was erased by a block in the back penalty, but Taylor Daire later moved the Jays to the Bulldog 1.
Two plays later, Henry Brown scored and Landry’s kick moved the Jays ahead 20-0 with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
Ville Platte was forced to punt again and the Jays took only three plays to score again.
After a pass completion by Brown, Davis had another impressive run and Daire scored on a 15-yard scamper.
Landry’s PAT pushed the Jays ahead, 27-0 with 1:42 left in the half.
The St. Edmund defense forced another Bulldog punt and the Jays quickly moved into Ville Platte territory.
Brown connected with Coleman and a face mask flag advanced the Jays to the Ville Platte 9.
But a missed field goal as time expired kept the Jays’ lead at 27-0 at intermission.
St. Edmund took the second half kickoff and moved 57 yards in seven plays, aided by an impressive pass and catch from Brown to Coleman to move the Jays to the VPHS 20.
After an offside’s flag on the Bulldogs and a short run by Davis, the Jays were forced with decision on fourth down at the 10.
Davis scored on the play and Landry’s kick increased St. Ed’s lead to 34-0 with 9:22 left in the third frame.
The Ville Platte offense continued to struggle and the Bulldogs were forced to punt again.
Two plays later Henry Brown connected with Gus Brown for a 50-yard scoring strike.
Landry’s PAT pushed the Jays ahead, 41-0 with 6:25 remaining in the quarter.
Ville Platte lost a fumble on their next possession and the St. Edmund offense had great field position at the Bulldog 9.
Two plays later, Daire scored on a nine-yard run.
The PAT was blocked, but the Blue Jays led 47-0 with 5:32 left in the third period.
The St. Edmund defense recovered another Bulldog fumble at the Ville Platte 13, but the Jays missed field goal.
After stopping the Bulldogs on their next possession, the Jays went 36 yards in three plays for the final touchdown of the game.
Kaleb George scored on a 20-yard run and Landry’s PAT pushed St. Ed’s up 54-0 with 5:50 left in the game.
St. Edmund out-gained Ville Platte 454 yards to 4 yards of total offense.
St. Edmund finished with 21 first downs, while limiting Ville Platte to one first down.
The Jays gained 302 yards rushing on 39 carries.
Davis finished with 176 yards on 18 carries, while Daire added 70 yards on eight carries.
Blue Jay quarterback Henry Brown completed 6-of-11 passes for 152 yards.
Coleman had three catches for 82 yards, wile Gus Brown added one catch for 50 yards.
Ville Platte finished with -39 yards on 27 rushing plays as the Jays recorded six quarterback sacks.
Bulldog quarterback Devin Fontenot completed 2-of-5 passes for 43 yards.
R.J. Wilson had one catch for 54 yards, while Jakalan Slaughter had one reception for -11 yards.
St. Edmund (1-1) opens District 5-1A play at home Friday against Opelousas Catholic.
OC (1-2) lost 41-39 to Port Allen.
Ville Platte (0-2) travels to Mamou (0-1) to begin District 5-3A competition.
The Green Demons lost 44-0 to Sacred Heart of Ville Platte.