WHITING — The St. Edmond football team will try to generate some offseason momentum here Thursday night.

With the change to the playoff format, officials within the Iowa High School Athletic Association gave squads not qualifying for the playoffs the opportunity to schedule a ninth game.

The Gaels will make the long trip to do just that, taking on Siouxland Christian. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“Siouxland Christian reached out to (St. Edmond athletic director) David Flattery and asked if we were interested in playing,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “For us, it was a no-brainer. Of course, we would have liked to play at home and not have to travel, but somebody had to travel and that’s how it worked out.”

After posting a 38-20 victory over Bishop Garrigan, St. Edmond (2-6 overall) lost its last two to Northwood-Kensett and GTRA.

Senior running back Tyler Rossmanith had one of his best games of the year, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown. Johnny Dickerson caught a TD vs. GTRA from Caleb Schaeffer for the other score.

Rossmanith has 453 yards and two TDs on the year, classmate Quinten McCarville has caught 31 passes for 446 with six TDs and Isaac Landwehr has 22 receptions for 435 yards and five touchdowns.

Landwehr, also a senior, has a team-high 70 tackles including three sacks and five tackles for loss. Rossmanith has 39.5 tackles and senior Grant Webster has two sacks.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our seniors to go out on a good note,” Dillon said. “We get another chance to step on the field and send them out with a victory.”

AJ Goetsch leads Siouxland Christian (0-8) with 701 yards passing and seven touchdowns, adding 272 yards on the ground and four scores. DeShawn Wells is his top target, catching 16 passes for 211 with four scores.

On defense, Goetsch is also the leader with 50 tackles, four for loss and a fumble recovery.

The Eagles have struggled, allowing at least 60 points in their last two games and five times overall. They did drop a 32-30 decision to River Valley prior to losses to Woodbine and Kingsley-Pierson to end the year.

“Siouxland Christian comes from District 1 that has defending state champion Remsen St. Mary’s, Newell-Fonda and Kingsley-Pierson,” Dillon said. “It’s a tough district so they have definitely been tested.”

This will be the final time in uniform for St. Edmond seniors McCarville, Landwehr, Zach Smith, Cayne Reed, Rossmanith, Webster, Zach Lawler, Landon Bartlett, Connor Lawton and Emillian Garcia.