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St. Edmond faces IKM in Homecoming tilt

Photo by Tom Vogt Sean Flattery runs the ball for St. Edmond against Eagle Grove inside Dodger Stadium earlier this month.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for the St. Edmond football team through four games.

Now, with the start of Class A, District 2 play to begin here Friday night, the Gaels and head coach Matt Dillon are hoping for more positive results.

St. Edmond (2-2 overall, 0-0 in district) welcomes IKM-Manning (2-2, 0-0) inside Dodger Stadium at 7 p.m. for its Homecoming contest.

Last week, third-ranked (Class A) Bishop Garrigan snapped a two-game win streak for the Gaels with a 52-0 victory in Algona. St. Edmond was coming off wins over Eagle Grove, 60-16, and North Union, 18-12.

“That was a very good football team in Garrigan. We were over-matched,” Dillon said. “They have the potential to win a state title this year.

“With IKM, I feel it’s a better (opponent) in terms of overall size, especially along the lines.”

In their two wins, the Gaels ran for 815 yards, including a 200-yard night by Sean Newell. In the two losses, SEHS has been held to just 288.

Newell leads the team with 437 yards on 65 carries, including five touchdowns. Sean Flattery has 335 yards and four scores, Peyton Spangler has 195 yards and two touchdowns, and Kase Baker has 154 yards and two TDs.

“We know it is important to run the football, and it will be extremely important (Friday night),” Dillon said. “We are pretty similar to IKM in what we want to do, and I feel like the team that has success running the ball, doesn’t turn it over and controls the clock will be the team that wins.”

The St. Edmond defense has forced 11 turnovers on the year, including recovering seven fumbles. Newell, Drew Schaeffer, Flattery, Jackson Bemrich and Nick Lawler are among the leaders in tackles.

After four weeks of play, the Gaels are ranked 33rd in the RPI, which will be used to determine playoff at-large qualifiers. IKM enters the night sitting two spots ahead in 31st.

“It is a very interesting thing with the RPI because you could have three co-district champions and that would take two wild card spots from the at-large teams,” Dillon said. “It’s very important from here on out that you take care of business and try to secure that automatic qualifier spot as a district champion.”

After opening the year with wins over ACGC (35-0) and Underwood (28-26), the Wolves were ranked in the Top-10. They suffered a 38-0 setback to No. 4 (1A) South Central Calhoun and were topped last week at East Sac County, 16-14.

Stephen Grimm leads the team with 272 yards rushing on 72 carries, including two touchdowns. Amos Rasmussen has 103 yards and two scores, and Nathan Blankman has scored twice with 63 yards on the ground.

Grimm and Rasmussen are the leading receivers with four receptions each. Kyler Rasmussen has completed 17 of 35 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

On defense, Grimm has a team-high 33.5 tackles, including eight solo stops for loss. He also has two interceptions, as IKM has forced seven turnovers on the year.

IKM was 7-3 last season, with Grimm running for 1,083 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. They graduated quarterback Jared Johnson and leading receivers Carter Irlmeier and Marshall Hansen. They were ousted from the playoffs by semifinalist West Lyon.

St. Edmond’s next two games will be on the road, as they travel to Sioux Central and Ridge View. Last year, the Gaels dropped games vs. both schools.

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