Dick Tighe knew it could be an uphill climb this season.

Still, the veteran head coach wasn’t expecting the struggle to be quite this difficult.

Winless in their last four games, the St. Edmond football team will again try to claim district victory No. 1 when they host North Union tonight at Dodger Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Gaels (1-5 overall, 0-4 in Class A, District 2) have fallen into their first sub-.500 season under Tighe since 2003, when they went 4-5. The year before that – Tighe’s first during his current stint at SEHS – they went 3-6, before putting together 12 consecutive seasons of at least five wins, including three with at least 11.

This roster wasn’t battle tested for the gridiron in 2016, as the Gaels have just four seniors on the roster. All of the youth and inexperience has caught up to the squad, along with injuries to several two-way starters and key pieces.

“The spirit and drive of the kids has still been incredible,” Tighe said. “Despite our record, they continue to show up and work hard. We’ve even been forced to mix in some early-morning practices, and they have all been there.

“They still want to get better, which is just great.”

Logan Fear – who went over the 1,000-yard mark for his career last week – Cade Naughton and Charlie Shelly will continue to see the bulk of the offensive load. However, Tighe is hoping to have Will Woodruff available for offensive duty this week, after he was limited to playing defense last Friday.

“We need to get some form of a passing game going,” Tighe said. “Will is a great asset, and when he’s out there, he gives us a big target to look for.”

Jack Rasmussen, another player who has been battling injuries, played through the pain to keep pace with the top tacklers in the state from his linebacker position. Senior Connor Allison is questionable to return, but would slot in at cornerback if he’s able to go.

“That would be big getting (Allison) back and (Woodruff) on both sides of the ball,” Tighe said. “We aren’t a very deep team as it is, so taking away guys like Will, Connor and Charlie (Doyle) really hurts.”

The Warriors (2-4, 1-3) picked up their first district win of the season last week, beating MMCRU, 26-14. Trent Pedersen ran for 133 yards and two scores, while Isacc Engeman added 87 and a pair of touchdowns.

Derek Thompson, who leads North Union in rushing on the year, was held to just seven yards on four carries. The junior has 427 yards, while Engeman has 398 and six scores.

Pedersen had just a single yard rushing before last week.

“It’s hard to say how we match up against North Union,” Tighe said. “We haven’t really matched up like I thought we would against anybody this year.”

Sophomore Elliott Hagebock is completing 41 percent of his passes for 197 yards with six interceptions. Engeman, also a 10th-grader, is his leading receiver with seven catches for 73, followed by Brady Anderson’s six for 52.

Eythan Blair anchors the Warrior defense with 72.5 tackles, including 62 solo stops. He has six tackles for loss and Pedersen has five. North Union has nine takeaways on the year, including six fumble recoveries.

Game notes: Tighe has had just five below-.500 seasons in his coaching career dating back to 1954, and has never won fewer than three games. … Rasmussen leads the district in tackles with 77.5, while Woodruff is sixth with 45. … St. Edmond has yet to score a point in the third quarter, while allowing opponents to post 49. … Thompson ranks fifth in the district in rushing, while Engeman is seventh. … Blair is second in the district behind Rasmussen for tackles.