Jays, Iota battling for win

There is always a reason to fight when St. Edmund and Iota meet.
Bragging rights are important, but that first win of the season is critical for both the Blue Jays and Bulldogs.
St. Edmund lost 42-6 at Class 3-A Northwest, while Iota fell 34-26 to Sacred Heart of Ville Platte last week.
“The guys fought hard and never quit,” St. Ed head coach Andy Hargroder said.
“Our run defense was better than it was last year against them,” he added. “Last year they gained 372 yards on the ground – this year only 129 yards.”
Northwest finished with 331 yards of total offense, sparked by 202 yards passing.
“We need to improve on our pass defense,” the coach said. “But we won’t face that kind of speed every week.
Mathew Rideau was the Raiders’ main running threat and he gained 116 yards on 19 carries, but was kept out of the endzone.
The Blue Jays were limited to 54 yards of total offense, a fact that Hargroder was determined to improve this week against Iota.
“The offensive line has to get better,” he said. “But against a bigger team, we were outmatched.
“It all starts up front,” he said. “That is on me as their coach.
“We need to execute on offense, get first downs and keep the ball as much as we can,” he said.
“The first game at home should be an exciting night,” the Blue Jay coach said.
Iota was led by running back Kaleb Guillory, who gained 272 yards and on 32 carries and scored three times in the Bulldogs’ loss.
“We need to stop their running game,” Hargoder said. “And we need to get better on offense.
“Building the process takes time,” he said. “We want to peak at district.”
For Iota, the Bulldogs will face the Jays with a new quarterback as Kameron Aucoin will replace injured Trae Rambin.
“It’s going to be a lot of the same gameplan we had going against Sacred Heart,” head coach Josh Andrus said. “We’ve got Kaleb in the backfield, so we can run the ball and hand it off to him and that makes for a little bit easier play calling.”
Last week, Iota’s defense held strong for most of the game, holding Sacred Heart to only seven points in the first half.
“Our defense held up well,” Andrus said. “But six turnovers are hard to overcome in a game, no matter how many yards you put up.
“Offensively we have to take care of the ball a lot better,” Andrus said. “Our defense gave us every opportunity to win, we just turned the ball over too much.”