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Gaels put on a Homecoming show

Photo by Tom Vogt Kase Baker breaks free for St. Edmond against Bishop Garrigan inside Dodger Stadium on Friday night. The Gaels defeated the Golden Bears, 62-14.

The wait for Homecoming was well worth it for the St. Edmond football team.

After having the special week delayed due to the novel coronavirus, the Gaels put together their most complete performance of the season, scoring a 62-14 victory over Bishop Garrigan here Friday night inside Dodger Stadium.

Drew Schaeffer accounted for five touchdowns, Kase Baker scored three times and St. Edmond (5-2 overall, 3-2 in Class A, District 2) ended a five-year streak of wins by the Golden Bears (4-2, 2-3) in a series that dates back to 1959.

“It was a dream come true for the team and I,” Schaeffer said. “We finally put everything together: offense, defense and special teams.

“It feels even better to do it to a rival who had beat us for so many years. They’re a good team, but we were able to up our intensity.”

Schaeffer continued to add to his list of accomplishments this year. The senior has now thrown for a school-record 1,484 yards, surpassing a mark set by Tad Lindner in 1978.

He also has 2,227 career yards passing, which ranks only behind Lindner’s 2,460. Schaeffer threw touchdown passes to three of his senior classmates in Anthony Lacina, Parker Oswald and Sean Flattery, giving him 15 on the year and 23 for his career — marks which both rank second.

“Drew had a great game, Parker had a great game, Kase had a great game,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “So many kids came out and just played incredible for us.

“Garrigan is always a fun, tough rival. I’ve been in these games over the years with Dowling and Valley, and typically, it is always a close contest. We just had a lot going for us and it continued throughout.”

Schaeffer completed 9 of 12 passes for 155 yards and added two rushing touchdowns. The second came on a pitch from senior lineman Brock Stanek, who had been inserted into the backfield.

Baker got the ball rolling for the Gaels on their first series, taking his first touch 64 yards to the end zone. The senior speedster did it again on the second drive, darting for six from 50 yards out.

“(Friday) was the best ever,” said Baker, who became the 30th player in school history to go over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career. “We were super, super pumped before the game — more than we ever have been before — and we all got locked in and got the job done.”

Baker needed just seven carries to rack up 163 yards, adding an 80-yard kickoff return to start the second half. He now has 1,154 rushing yards in his career.

It was even more memorable of a performance for Baker as his dad, Todd, returned to the sidelines as an assistant coach.

“It meant everything having him there on the field,” he said. “The best part was giving him a huge hug after the game. It was a great night to play Gael football.”

Oswald caught four passes for 48 yards, finished off a 21-point third quarter with a 65-yard interception return for a score and recorded two sacks. He now has 53 career receptions for 919 yards, which place him third and fifth all-time.

For the Golden Bears, Derrick Kirsch ran for 170 yards and Kellen Murphy 87. Cal Birkey had a rushing touchdown and Joey Trainer caught a 20-yard TD pass from Murphy.

After allowing over 37 points in each of the past three games, Dillon and defensive coordinator Mark McDermott made two key changes that helped the Gaels allow their fewest points since Week 2.

“We moved Cayne Reed along the defensive line and put Isaac Landwehr at linebacker,” Dillon said. “Those two were incredible and really made a big-time difference.

“Cayne really disrupted what Garrigan wanted to do by getting into the backfield and Isaac was all over the field making tackles.”

Both St. Edmond and Bishop Garrigan will now await what is next with the rest of the state. Pairings for the first round are expected to be released on Saturday.

SE BG

First Downs 18 14

Rushes-Yards 28-247 44-272

Passing 155 39

Comp-Att-Int 9-12-0 3-10-1

Total Offense 402 311

Punts-Avg. 0-0 2-35.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 3-15 4-40

St. Edmond 14 21 21 6– 62

Garrigan 7 7 0 0 –14

Scoring Summary

St. Edmond — Kase Baker (64-yard run), 8:56 left in first. Thornton Aljets kick.

Bishop Garrigan — Cal Birkey (12-yard run), 5:48 left in first. Joe Merron kick.

St. Edmond — Baker (50-yard run), 4:06 left in first. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Drew Schaeffer (1-yard run), 9:00 left in second. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Anthony Lacina (58-yard pass from Schaeffer), 7:12 left in second. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Parker Oswald (25-yard pass from Schaeffer), 3:58 left in second. Aljets kick.

Bishop Garrigan — Joey Trainer (20-yard pass from Kellen Murphy), :16 left in second. Merron kick.

St. Edmond — Baker (80-yard kickoff return), 11:46 left in third. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Sean Flattery (22-yard pass from Schaeffer), 4:56 left in third. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Oswald (65-yard interception return), 1:06 left in third. Aljets kick.

St. Edmond — Schaeffer (2-yard run), 3:23 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Kase Baker 7-163, Tyler Rossmanith 11-38, Sean Flattery 4-30, Drew Schaeffer 4-14, Brock Stanek 2-2. Bishop Garrigan: Derrick Kirsch 20-170, Kellen Murphy 17-87, Cal Birkey 6-16, Nate Bronk 1-(minus-1).

Passing — St. Edmond: Drew Schaeffer 9-12-0-155. Bishop Garrigan: Kellen Murphy 3-9-1-39, Isaiah Plathe 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — St. Edmond: Anthony Lacina 1-58, Parker Oswald 4-48, Sean Flattery 1-22, Quinten McCarville 2-19, Kase Baker 1-8. Bishop Garrigan: Joey Trainer 1-20, Derrick Kirsch 1-11, Angelo Winkel 1-8.

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