Blue Jays soar past ‘Canes

The Blue Jays put themselves in position to play for the District 5-1A title as St. Edmund cruised to a 42-8 homecoming win over North Central.
“I thought we came out and played with good focus,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said of the first half. “Next week we will need to stay focused throughout the game.”
St. Edmund will entertain Basile Friday night for the district championship as the Bearcats grabbed a 10-0 win over previous district leader Catholic High of Pointe Coupee.
“We have a shot to play for the district title on our field,” he said. “Now we need to take care of business.”
After a long kickoff return by William Chachere, it took just one play for Gibson LaFleur to score from 19 yards out.
LaFleur also ran in the two-point conversion to push the Jays ahead, 8-0 with 11:39 left in the first quarter.
North Central went three-and-out on its first possession and the Jays took six plays to move 54 yards and score again.
Drake Brunet connected with Chachere for a 24-yard touchdown.
Brunet then found Cullen Brown open for the two-point conversion to give the Jays a 16-0 lead with 6:57 remaining.
After holding the Hurricanes on fourth down, the Jays moved 53 yards in eight plays, sparked by a reception by Cole Bergeron and several runs by Murphy Richard.
Richard capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but the Jays led 22-0 with 1:46 left in the first period.
The Hurricanes fumbled the ensuing kickoff and St. Edmund’s Stephan Thibodeaux recovered the ball near midfield.
After gaining 18 yards on two carries, LaFleur then caught an 18-yard pass from Brunet and was stopped at the North Central 12.
Brunet and LaFleur connected again for an 8-yard play before Bergeron scored on a 5-yard reverse.
The two-point conversion failed, but the Jays led 28-0 with 10:30 remaining before intermission.
Bergeron set up the Blue Jays as he intercepted a pass and raced to the Hurricane 30.
LaFleur broke loose for a 24-yarder and then scored on a 6-yard run with 3:02 left in the quarter.
The two-point conversion failed but the Jays took a 34-0 lead into halftime.
After forcing North Central to punt early in the third period, the Jays fumbled the ball right back to the Hurricanes.
North Central then mounted a 10-play drive, before the Jay defense stiffened on fourth down at the St. Edmund 25.
On the third play of the drive, Brunet connected with Brown for a 46-yarder and then LaFleur rumbled through the middle of the Hurricane defense for the final 30 yards to the end zone.
Brunet found Bergeron open in the end zone for the two-point conversion to give the Jays a 42-0 lead with 11:11 remaining in the contest.
North Central avoided the shutout when Wilshawn Williams raced 58 yards to score with 7:33 left.
Deante Levier ran in the two-point conversion to close the gap to 42-8 with 7:33 left in the game.
Brunet completed 7-of-8 passes for 125 yards.
LaFleur had 121 yards on 10 carries for the Jays.