By DANA BECKER

sports@messengernews.net

SIOUX RAPIDS — Playing a nine-game regular season, St. Edmond head football coach Matt Dillon likes to break it down into thirds.

Over the first three games, his Gaels went 2-1, scoring victories over North Union and Eagle Grove.

The most recent three, though, have resulted in three losses for St. Edmond, including a 42-12 setback to Sioux Central here Friday night.

“We just went through the gauntlet of our schedule,” Dillon said. “We went 2-1 in that first part, 0-3 here against the three best teams on our schedule, and now, let’s see what we have left for the last three.”

The Rebels (5-1 overall, 2-0 in Class A, District) earned their second consecutive victory over the Gaels (2-4, 0-2) as Ben Hargens ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Blake Cavanaugh added 104 yards rushing and two scores, along with an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third to cap off a 34-point run. Hargens and Cavanaugh have a combined 1,000 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns this year.

“We had a really good quarter-and-a-half, then they got their second touchdown, we turned it over and all of a sudden, it’s a 24-point game,” Dillon said. “I’m proud of the effort by the kids. I feel bad for our defense because we weren’t able to do enough on offense to make it happen. We just left them on the field too much.”

Sean Newell kept his balance and broke free on third-and-10 for a 98-yard run, out-racing several Sioux Central defenders. Newell finished with 113 yards rushing, with Kase Baker scoring the other touchdown as time expired on a 25-yard run.

“That was a tremendous run by Sean,” Dillon said. “And there late, it was important for the kids to get that second score because just one other team has scored more than one touchdown against them.

“I wanted to give our kids every chance to improve, get better and gain confidence.”

Jackson Bemrich had two sacks to lead the Gael defense on the night.

Sioux Central remained tied atop the district with Alta/Aurelia (5-1, 2-0) and IKM-Manning (4-2, 2-0). The Rebels host Manson Northwest Webster next Friday before road dates with the Cyclones and Wolves.

St. Edmond plays its final road game next week at Holstein vs. Ridge View (0-6, 0-2). The Raptors fell to Alta/Aurelia last night, 38-12.

SE SC

First Downs 6 16

Rushes-Yards 36-183 53-270

Passing 0 43

Comp-Att-Int 0-5-0-0 3-5-0

Total Offense 183 313

Punts-Avg. 8-33.4 5-31.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-0

Penalties-Yards 1-10 4-35

St. Edmond 6 0 0 6– 12

Sioux Central 8 16 18 0–42

Scoring Summary

Sioux Central — Blake Cavanaugh (23-yard run), 6:55 left in first. Cavanaugh run.

St. Edmond — Sean Newell (98-yard run), 2:02 left in first. Conversion failed.

Sioux Central — Ben Hargens (1-yard run), 5:29 left in second. Hargens run.

Sioux Central — Hargens (14-yard run), 3:55 left in second. Hargens run.

Sioux Central — Hargens (6-yard run), 7:55 left in third. Kick failed.

Sioux Central — Cavanaugh (43-yard run), 6:33 left in third. Conversion failed.

Sioux Central — Cavanaugh (81-yard punt return), 4:57 left in third. Kick failed.

St. Edmond — Kase Baker (25-yard run), 0:00 left in fourth.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Sean Newell 17-113, Kase Baker 2-35, Sean Flattery 11-24, Jake Rossow 2-12, Peyton Spangler 3-6, Elijah Litwiller 1-(minus-7). Sioux Central: Ben Hargens 25-140, Blake Cavanaugh 11-104, Teagan Pritchard 5-11, Jake Hanson 7-10, Jake Saunders 3-4, Gibson Olson 1-1, Jack Stuckenschneider 1-1.

Passing — St. Edmond: Elijah Litwiller 0-4-0-0, Drew Schaeffer 0-1-0-0. Sioux Central: Jake Hanson 3-5-0-43, Jake Saunders 0-0-0-0.

Receiving — Sioux Central: Caden Webber 2-26, Prestan Samson 1-17.