Grand Lake scored first, but the Blue Jays scored 29 unanswered points as St. Edmund earned a 29-7 homecoming win over the Hornets.
With the victory, the Blue Jays improved to 7-1 overall, 5-0 in District 4-1A.
Grand Lake falls to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in district play.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we finally made enough plays in the second half to put the game away,” St. Edmund head coach Andy Hargroder said.
“Grand Lake’s record doesn’t show how good they are,” he added. “They kept all their games close and played everybody tough.
“But I will take an ugly win and move on to our next game.”
After St. Edmund failed to convert on a fake punt, Grand Lake went 43 yards in 10 plays capped by a 5-yard run by Kade Delcambre.
Joel Del Rosa’s PAT gave the Hornets a 7-0 lead with 3:35 left in the first period.
The Blue Jays responded with a 12-play, 76-yard drive, sparked by several strong runs by Brad Miller.
Miller then connected with Peyton Marcantel for 37-yard pass to move the Jays to the Horent 13 early in the second period.
Three plays later, Miller scored on a 1-yard run but after a missed PAT, the Hornets held a 7-6 margin with9:43 left before the intermission.
On Grand Lake’s next possession, Blue Jay defender Hunter Brown intercepted a Delcambre pass near midfield.
St. Edmund threatened to score on the five-play possession, but a fumble at the Hornet 1 stopped the drive.
Four plays later, Noah Clause blocked a Grand Lake punt and the ball rolled out of the endzone for a safety as the Blue Jays led 8-7 with 4:25 left in the second period.
After the free kick, the Blue Jays moved to the Hornet 40 before Marcantel’s pass attempt was picked off by Delcambre at the Grand Lake 15.
St. Edmund held a 8-7 lead at intermission and was forced to punt on its opening drive of the third period.
The Hornets converted on fourth down to keep its first drive going, but the Jay defense stiffened.
Del Rosal’s 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the Jays quickly responded with a 70-yard, four-play drive.
Marcantel completed the drive with a 35-yard touchdown run and his PAT gave the Jays a 15-7 lead with 3:44 remaining in the third frame.
Grand Lake responded and moved the ball to the Blue Jay 1 before a personal foul and a quarterback sack moved the Hornets back to the St. Ed 31.
On fourth-and-goal, Blue Jay Josh Smith sacked Delcambre to stop the drive at the St. Ed 37.
It took the Jays just four plays to go 63 yards, aided by strong frruns from Miller and an unsportsmamnlike penalty agains the Hornets.
Miller then connected with Kaden Fontenot for a 32-yard scoring strike.
Marcantel’s PAT pushed the Jays ahead, 22-7 with 10:16 left in the game.
Grand Lake responded with an impressive drive before the Jays defense stopped the Hornets on fourth down at the St. Ed 32.
The Jays sealed the win with a 8-play, 67 yard drive capped by a 15-yard run by Marcantel.
Marcantel’s PAT pushed St. Edmund ahead, 29-7 with 3:03 left in the game.
Luke Doucet gained 136 yards on 15 carries to push him to 1,094 yards on the season.
Doucet is the 15th Blue Jays player since 1960 to gain over 1,000 yards on the season.
St. Edmund travels to Hamilton Christian (2-5, 2-3) this week.
The Warriors lost 22-20 to Merryville (4-4, 3-2).