Blue Jays roll past rival Trojans

The St. Edmund Blue Jays seized second place in District 5-1A and sealed a first round home gamee for the playoffs with a 35-6 win over rival Sacred Heart of Ville Platte.

St. Edmund (7-3, 4-1) now awaits today’s release of the LHSAA Select Team Bracket.

“Our guys played with heart and played physical for four quarters and got the job done,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said. “Getting a home game to begin the playoffs is a tribute to the hard work the guys put in.”

The Blue Jay defense stopped Sacred Heart (6-3, 3-2) on fourth down on the opening series of the game as the St. Edmund offense took over at their own 41.

With a strong runs by Drew Brown and Zach LaFleur, the Jays moved inside the Trojan 20.

Brown capped the eight-play, 58 yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run.

Kyle Verdugo’s kick gave the Jays a 7-0 lead with 5:49 left in the first period. 

After forcing another SHVP punt, it took the Jays only three plays to move 79 yards for the next score.

Brown connected with Zach LaFleur for 62 yards on a screen pass and two plays later, Brown found Stone LeJeune open in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown.

Verdugo’s PAT pushed the Jays ahead 14-0 with 3:26 left in the first quarter.

The Blue Jay defense forced another punt and St. Edmund mounted a nine-play, 64 yard drive that moved into the second period.

After an Trojans offsides flag gave the Jays a crucial first down at the Sacred Heart 35, four plays later Brown connected with Alex Hunt for a 20-yard touchdown. Verdugo’s PAT gave the Jays a 21-0 advantage with 11:06 left in the half.

After being held to just one first down on their first three possessions, it took just three plays for Sacred Heart to put points on the board when Ellis Parrott scored on a 53-yard run up the middle of the Blue Jay defense.

The extra point failed as  St. Edmund held a 21-6 lead with 9:39 remaining in the half.

After the Blue Jays were forced to punt for the first time in the game, Sacred Heart seemed poised to pull the game closer with a 14-play drive to move down the field.

But the Blue Jay defense held on fourth down when Parrott was tackled for a loss on a screen pass  with 39 seconds left in the half.

St. Edmund took the second half kickoff and moved 75 yard in just two plays as Brown raced 69 yards to the end zone.

Verdugo’s PAT gave the Jays a 28-6 lead with 11:22 left in the third quarter.

After three consecutive punts, the Blue Jays then put the game away with a 10-play, 70 yard drive capped off with a 1-yard run by Zach LaFleur.

Verdugo’s fifth PAT pushed the Jays ahead, 35-6 with 38 seconds remaining in the third period.

The Trojans were limited to just two plays and a punt in the fourth quarter as St. Edmund held onto the ball  for the final 10:30 on the clock.

The key play of the drive was a fake punt on fourth-and-six near midfield when Alex Hunt gained 13 yards on his only carry of the game.

The Blue Jays then held on to the ball for final 4:44 and celebrated a 35-6 win.

The Jays are 28-24-3 against the Trojans and extend  their win streak to four straight over Sacred Heart.