Blue Jays soar past Hurricanes

By: Tom Dodge

LEBEAU – St. Edmund stayed in the hunt for a share of the District 6-1A title as the Blue Jays rolled to a 53-16 win over North Central Friday night.

“We found our focus late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter and took advantage of some turnovers,” St Edmund head coach Thomas David said. “We did a great job putting the game away as we executed well and put points on the board off short-fields.

“That put us in a great opportunity at halftime,” the coach said of the 46-8 lead at the break.

After forcing the Hurricanes to punt to open the game, the Blue Jays went 47 yards on just two plays to score the game’s first points.

St. Edmund quarterback David Scott LaFleur connected with Adam Clause for a 41-yard pass and the Bluew Jay signal caller capped the drive with a 6-yard run.

The extra point failed as the Blue Jays led 6-0 with 10:06 remaining in the first period.

The Hurricanes responded with a seven-play, 76-yard drive aided by a fourth-down pass interference call.

Two plays later, Alonzo Harris hauled in a 51-yard pass from Markell Chambers.

Chambers ran in the two-point conversion as North Central grabbed an 8-6 advantage with 6:48 left in the opening quarter.

St. Edmund answered with a five-play, 58-yard scoring drive to retake the lead for good.

Lafleur connected with Tyler Vidrine for a 22-yard play and a face mask call gains the ‘Canes moved the ball to the North Central 32.

After an illegal procedure violation, LaFleur threw a screen pass to Trey Quick who rumbled 37 yards to the end zone.

LaFleur’s two-point conversion pushed the Jays ahead 14-8 with 5:15 left in the period.

After a tipped punt, the Jays took advantage of a short field and moved 44 yards in just three plays.

Lafleur’s scoring pass was deflected right into the waiting arms of Clause who raced 19 yards untouched to the end zone.

Trey Caswell’s kick gave the Jays a 21-8 lead with 2:29 left in the first period.

The two teams exchanged interceptions by Blue Jay Clause and Hurricane Jacory Andrus as the game moved into the second quarter.

LaFleur picked off Chambers to give the Jays a great scoring opportunity at the North Central 30.

Clause’s 17-yard touchdown run was erased by a holding call, but Trey Quirk scored on a 13-yard run on the next play.

The PAT failed but the Jays led 27-8 with 7:49 left before intermission.

The Blue Jays recovered a North Central fumble and quickly took advantage of the opportunity as LaFleur connected with Clause for a 40-yard touchdown,

The extra-point failed but the Jays led 33-8 with 5:48 left before halftime.

The Jays recovered another Hurricane fumble at the North Central 40 and two plays later, LaFleur tossed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Clause.

Pierre DeRouen’s kick gave St. Edmund a 40-8 advantage with 4:00 left in the first half.

North Central fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Jays recovered at the Hurricane 39.

After several strong runs by Christian Walker, LaFleur scored on a 23-yard run as the Blue Jays took 46-8 lead with 2:06 left before intermission.

St. Edmund went 60 yards in just eight pays to open the third period, aided by several good runs by Walker.

Perry Pitre connected with Drew Brown in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown and DeRouen’s kick gave the Jays a 53-8 advantage with 7:05 left in the third period.

In the fourth quarter, North Central moved the ball 71 yards in jus three plays, capped by a 14-yard pass from Chambers to Kyren Brown.

Brown ran in the two-point conversion to close the gap to 53-16 with 5:15 left in the game.

“We have a short week,” David said of Thursday’s home game against Opelousas Catholic.

“We have two huge games left on our schedule and we need to take care of business.”