It’s been almost three full weeks since the St. Edmond football team stepped inside Dodger Stadium.

After back-to-back road losses at Sioux Central and Ridge View, the Gaels welcome Alta/Aurelia for a Class A, District 2 contest.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

St. Edmond (2-5, 0-3) saw several scoring chances fall short last week in the rain at Ridge View, dropping a 26-0 decision. Sean Newell had 104 yards from scrimmage, Sean Flattery ran for 61 yards and Elijah Litwiller completed six passes for 68 yards.

“We’ve got two home games left to finish out and these kids, especially the seniors, are excited to get out there and play in front of a home crowd,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “The seniors have spilled their blood and guts for four years in this program, so we’ll try to send them out in a good way.”

Newell, a senior, has 624 yards and six touchdowns on the season, with Flattery adding 496 and five scores. Drew Schaeffer has hauled in nine passes for 126 yards.

The SEHS defense is led by Newell, who has recorded 71.5 tackles. Jackson Bemrich has 54 including four sacks and seven solo stops for loss, with Flattery, Nick Lawler, Schaeffer and Peyton Spangler all registering at least 43.5 tackles.

Spangler has recorded four of the 10 fumble recoveries for the Gaels, with Litwiller and Jake Rossow each picking off two passes.

“Our defense had another good game last week (vs. Ridge View), we just gave us three big plays to the fullback,” Dillon said. “Outside of those, they contained him and the rest of their players.”

Newell currently ranks third in the district in tackles, third in total yards from scrimmage and fourth in rushing yards, with Bemrich second in sacks and Spangler second in fumble recoveries.

The Warriors (5-2, 2-1) had their four-game win streak snapped by IKM-Manning last Friday in overtime, 20-19, as they went for the win on a two-point conversion attempt that was stopped.

Logan McCoy, a junior, had 70 yards rushing and two touchdowns, with Levi Sleezer recovering a fumble for another score.

“Alta/Aurelia’s quarterback does some nice things, especially with his legs,” Dillon said. “We’ll have to focus on him and try to limit anything big he does.”

McCoy, the starting quarterback, has completed 22 of 51 for 219 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions this year. He also has 220 yards rushing and five scores.

Anthony Krier leads Alta/Aurelia with 609 yards and seven TDs, averaging over seven yards per carry. He has four 100-yard rushing performance this season. Michael Ryherd has 275 and four.

The Gael offensive line will be focused on Nick Gaes, as the senior has six solo sacks, four assisted sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 57 stops overall. The Warriors have forced 17 turnovers as a team.

Weather has also kept St. Edmond from practicing outside until this past Thursday, as Dillon said “it’s been a crazy October, that’s for sure.”