Blue Jays roll in district opener

NEW ROADS – St. Edmund had an 16-7 halftime lead before the Blue Jays exploded for a 30-14 win over Catholic High of Pointe Coupee in the District 5-1A opener.
“It was nice to get the win, but there are a lot of things we need to get cleaned up,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said after the win. “We didn’t execute as well as we would have liked.
“On defense we had a good night but missed four opportunities to grab interceptions that could have been touchdowns.
“We dropped passes in the end zone when had chances to score,” he added. “We could have put the game away earlier.”
After pinning the Horntets back within a yard of their own end zone, the Blue Jays offense moved 37 yards in four plays as Drew Brown connected with Alex Hunt for a nine-yard scoring strike.
Zach LaFleur hauled in the two-point conversion to push the Jays ahead 8-0 with 7:06 left in the first period.
After another Hornet punt, the Blue Jays threatened with a time-consuming, 15-play drive that moved nearly 75 yards before ending on fourth down at the Catholic 6.
The Blue Jays stopped themselves again on the next drive with an incomplete pass at the Hornet 26 early in the second period.
Catholic then went 74 yards in nine plays, aided with a 25-yard pass from Jonas Guichet to Gabe Vandegrift.
Two plays later, Guichet hit Vandegrift for a 15-yard touchdown.
Vandegrift nailed the PAT as the Hornets closed the gap to 8-7 with 6:23 left in the half.
The Blue Jay defense held on the next Catholic drive to take over on the St. Edmund 22.
On the very next play for Drew Brown hit a wide open Cullen Brown for a 78-yard touchdown.
The Brown-to-Brown connection was good again for the two-point conversion as the Blue Jays grabbed a 16-7 advantage with 2:52 left in the second period.
The Blue Jay defense forced a turnover early in the third period when Hunt picked off Guichet near midfield and raced to the Hornet 18.
On the next play, Drew Brown hit Cullen Brown for a 18-yard score.
Zach LaFleur caught the two-point conversion from Brown as the Jays led 24-7 with 11:02 left in the third period.
After Drew Brown recovered his own on-sides kick as the Jays attempted to seal the win, the two defenses forced six straight punts.
The Blue Jays finally mounted a successful 59-yard scoring drive, sparked by several strong runs by Zach LaFleur.
Drew Brown hit Drake Brunet for a 30-yard touchdown as the two-point conversion failed as the Jays led 30-7 with 10:55 left in the game.
Hornet quarterback Guichet then both his legs and his arm to move Catholic down the field.
Guichet connected with Landon LeMay and Nathan Carriere to keep the drive alive before running the ball in from 25 yards out.
Vandegrift kicked the PAT to close the gap to 30-14 with 8:34 left in the game.
The Blue Jays were forced to punt on their next possession, but Lathan Lyons picked off Guichet near midfield to stop the Hornets.
After another St. Edmund punt, Ross LaFleur sacked Guichet and the Blue Jay defense stopped the Hornets one final time.
Drew Brown completed 18-of-34 passes for 300 yards in the win.
Cullen Brown hauled in three catches for 104 yards, while Hunt (6-64), Brunet (4-59) and Zach LaFleur (2-34) all contriuted.
Guichet completed 24-of-44 passes for 219 yards and two interceptions.
Vandegrift had eight catches for 95 yards.
St. Edmund faces North Central for homecoming this Friday.