St. Edmond Welcomes Top-Ranked Audubon | News, Sports, Jobs

There is perhaps no team in better shape in all of eight-man football than St. Edmonds at the moment.

After two straight games in which they scored at least 70 points, the Gaels return home to host Audubon, which is tied for first with Bishop Garrigan in the Associated Press poll.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Dodger Stadium.

“It’s a big problem, no doubt.” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “I don’t think there’s another school in the state, of any class, that can say they’ve played Top 2 teams in the first four weeks of the season.”

St. Edmond (2-1 overall, 2-0 district) bounced back from a Week 1 loss to the Golden Bears by crushing Collins-Maxwell, 70-14. They followed that performance with a 74-24 road win at Baxter last Friday.

The Gaels, who received votes in the poll and are ranked 14th, have scored an impressive 69 points in the first quarters of their last two games alone, while running out the clock before halftime.

Grant Galles, a junior, tied a state record by returning three kickoffs for scores against Baxter. He also caught a touchdown and had an interception returned for a score, as did senior Klay Baker.

Baker added two rushing touchdowns and Dominic McClain caught two touchdowns from Ethan Swisher as St. Edmond ran just 38 offensive plays from scrimmage.

“We have improved a lot since the opening match” Dillon said. “We’ve had a great week of training and we’re looking forward to getting back on the pitch and putting in a better performance than when we played against Garrigan.”

Swisher, who completed 5 of 5 passes for 103 yards last week, has thrown for 347 yards and seven touchdowns in three games. Baker has rushed for 184 yards and four touchdowns while Galles has nine catches for 228 yards and four touchdowns.

The Gaels’ defense has forced 11 turnovers this year, including four interceptions by Jakob Koopman. Adam Walker, a returning All-State player, has six tackles for loss and a team-best 20.5 tackles.

“Scoring 61 points in one half and executing 10 offensive plays shows how great your defense and special teams were.” Dillon said. “These guys played amazing and it was really fun to watch.”

Audubon will look to attack them behind senior Aaron Olsen, who moved from quarterback to running back. Olsen rushed for 226 yards and 148 yards receiving with four TDs while junior Carson Wessel now guides the offense.

Wessel completed 16 of 24 passes for 385 yards and six TDs, averaging 24 yards per completion. He also ran 60 times for 383 yards and six TDs.

Along with Olsen, Austin Christensen and Brody Weber are weapons in the passing game. Christensen has 140 receiving yards and three touchdowns while Weber has 97 yards and a touchdown.

The Wheelers have dominated their last two opponents, outscoring Colo-Nesco and Exira-EHK by a combined score of 116-8. They are averaging just over 51 points per game on the season.

Last year, Audubon won a shootout against the Gaels, 66-48, with both teams scoring 50 points in the first quarter.

“There were about four games that decided the outcome of the game last season,” Dillon said: “You have to give them credit for creating them.

“It looks like the game is going to play out the same way, with two great attacks and two great defenses.”