Blue Jays clip Bulldogs, 8-0

IOTA – Sometimes, one touchdown is all that is needed to win a game.
Gibson LaFleur scored on a 31-yard pass from Drake Brunet with 7:16 left in the second period.
Noah Clause caught the two-point conversion to give St. Edmund an 8-0 lead over Iota.
The Blue Jay defense then preserved the shutout to give St. Edmund their first win of the season.
“Hats off to the defense as they played to their backs to the wall most of the game,” St. Edmund Thomas David said. “We kept fighting and found a way to get off the field without giving up any points.
The Bulldogs (1-1) threatened on their second possession midway through the first period when Trae Rambin found Cade Covalt wide open in the middle of the field.
Covalt raced 69 yards as he was on his way to the end zone before Cullen Brown chased him down from behind to make the tackle at the Blue Jay 5.
“That was the defensive play of the game,” the coach said. “Cullen could have easily given up on the play but he made the effort to catch the guy.”
The St. Edmund defense forced a sack on second down and Brown batted the ball in the end zone for on fourth down to stop the drive.
The two teams then exchanged punts before the Blue Jays fumbled the wet football back to Iota near midfield n the closing minute of the first period.
The St. Edmund defense again stood tall as William Chachere picked off Rambin’s pass in the end zone and raced to the 19 yard line early in the second period.
Back-to-back face mask and holding penalties against the Bulldogs helped the Jays move into Iota territory and LaFleur’s touchdown catch capped the drive.
The Bulldogs threatened again after Levi Manuel snared an interception near midfield.
But three plays later, Chachere recovered a Bulldog fumble at the St. Ed 26 with 3:23 left in the half.
After the Blue Jays were forced to punt, the Bulldogs moved the ball to the St. Edmund 29 before a fourth-down incomplete pass halted the drive with 20 seconds left.
Iota moved the ball into Blue Jay territory to begin the second half, but another fourth down incompletion stopped the Bulldogs’ drive.
After both teams exchanged punts, the Blue Jays seemed poised to score as St. Edmund moved 60 yards on 10 plays, including two fourth-down conversions to keep the drive alive.
But on fourth-and-goal, the Iota defense held and kept the Jays out of the end zone.
A late hit and later a pass interference call against the Jays pushed the Bulldogs to the St. Edmund 18 with 10:00 left in the fourth period.
But Blue Jay defender Cole Bergeron snared an interception at the St. Ed 8 to stop the threat.
The Blue Jay offense then mounted a 12-play, time-consuming drive to move deep into Bulldog territory.
But the Iota defense held again on fourth down with a quarterback sack to stop the Jays.
After both teams punted, the Bulldogs had one last chance with 3:35 left in the game.
But three straight incompletions stopped the drive and St. Edmund then ran out the clock.
“At times our offense looked as sloppy as the wet field,” the coach said. “Neither team did a good job of execution, but we had several opportunities to score more points and didn’t.”
Brunet completed 17-of-38 for 212 yards.
Cole Bergeron had six catches for 83 yards, while LaFleur had four catches for 69 yards.
St. Edmund will entertain Opelousas Catholic on Friday, while Iota travels to Lake Arthur.