Jays brace for Gators attack

PRAIRIE BASSE - The surroundings should look familiar for first-year Blue Jay head coach Andy Hargroder as St. Edmund faces Beau Chene tonight.
Hargroder was hired as the Gators’ offensive corridinator in 1993 before taking over the program as head coach (1997 to 2000).
Hargroder coached present Beau Chene head coach Josh Guidry.
“This is one of their better teams in school history,” Hargroder said of the Gators. “I am not surprised they are undefeated – they are doing the right things.”
The Gators opened the season with wins over West St. Mary (14-6), Pine Prairie (39-0), Port Barre (33-6) and False River Academy (41-14).
“They have size, speed and they are executing well,” Hargroder said. “Josh has them playing well on both sides of the ball.”
Last season, Beau Chene grabbed a 21–12 win over the Blue Jays.
Donatrae Eaglin returns for his senior year after gaining 134 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns against the Jays last season.
The St. Edmund defense helped the Jays grabbed its 7-0 win over Iota and gave the offense chances in the 6-0 loss to Port Barre last week.
The Red Devils rolled up 212 yards of total offense but only scored as the first half ended.
The Blue Jays recovered two fumbles (Carter Andrus and Alex Stelly), made an interception (Austin Miller) and recorded a quarterback sack (Jack Brown).
While the Blue Jay offense has only scored 13 points in the first four games, Hargroder is hopeful the Blue Jay offense will start scoring points.
“We had two 11-play drives against Port Barre,” he said. “We moved some guys around to see if we can stronger at certain spots.
“We showed signs that the offense is close to clicking,” Hargroder said. “We believe we are not far off.
“The defense is playing light’s out but we need to get better and produce points on offense.”
Hargrdoer said the schedule of facing a 2-A, three 3-A teams and now the Class 4-A Gators has not put the Blue Jays in a position of success.
“It may have helped in the power rankings,” he said of the Jays sitting presently the No. 2 team in Non-Select Division IV behind Ascension Episcopal. “But it hasn’t helped us to be successful in district – I want to play people we can compete with and get confidence heading into district.”
After completing its non-district gauntlet, the Jays will take on False River (3-1), Catholic High of Pointe Coupee (1-3), Westminster Christian Academy (2-2), North Central (0-4) and Basile (1-3) in District 5-1A.
“They sre still believing,” Hargroder said of the team. “We still have hope to do well in district – we just need something good to happen.”
So far this season, Beau Chene's home games have been played at Clark Field in Lafayette as the Gators’ field was heavily damanged by the August flood and they have yet been able to play there.