-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Klay Baker of St. Edmond runs for a first down against AR-WE-VA on Friday at Dodgers Stadium

The St. Edmond football team showed how much they have learned with a year of eight-player under their belts.

In the 2022 opener here Friday night at Dodger Stadium, the Gaels scored on their first four offensive possessions, added another defensive touchdown and rolled past Ar-We-Va, 65-19.

Sophomore Klay Baker found the end zone four times in the first quarter, senior Johnny Dickerson caught two highlight-reel touchdown passes from JT Laufersweiler and Adam Walker recorded three sacks on defense.

“Just an incredible performance all around,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “We did a lot of very good things on both sides of the ball — especially for the first game of the season. Sure, there are still things that need to be cleaned up, but I feel much better this year coming out of Week 1 (compared to last year).”

St. Edmond (1-0 overall) made the transition to eight-player a season ago, earning a wild 62-56 overtime victory vs. the Rockets (0-1). The Gaels would go on to finish just 3-6 while battling injuries and inexperience.

“So much better,” Dillon said. “It feels like we are better prepared for this style of play now. We understand a little more what it takes and where you have to put yourself to be in the best position possible.”

Laufersweiler, a junior, completed 6 of 9 passes for 118 yards while adding another 53 on the ground. Dickerson finished with five receptions for 88 yards with Caleb Schaeffer had 68 yards rushing and 23 receiving.

“JT is a very talented kid who can really create back there,” Dillon said. “With Caleb, we can put him in so many roles to be successful. And Johnny, he just might be one of the best receivers to play here.”

The Gaels showed their progress on the opening drive, marching 59 yards on nine plays with a mix of runs and passes, as Baker punched it in from a yard out. Two plays later, Baker picked off Blayne Smith and darted to the end zone for another score.

A short field led to Baker’s third score of the night, while Dickerson’s first TD came after a blocked punt by the SEHS special teams.

Senior kicker Alex Tiernan finished 5-fot-7 on extra-point attempts, with John Nemmers adding an interception on defense.

St. Edmond finished the first 12 minutes of play with 37 points. Schaeffer, Laufersweiler and freshman Ethan Swisher all added TD runs later in the game.

“It was a great way to start the season,” Dillon said. “The crowd was into it and the kids gave them a great performance. Now, though, we have to move on and focus on West Bend-Mallard and the start of district play.”

The Gaels will hit the road next Friday to face the Wolverines, who fell to Newell-Fonda, 28-14, last night.

SE A

First Downs 14 8

Rushes-Yards 32-171 20-27

Passing 119 170

Comp-Att-Int 7-10-0 12-26-2

Total Offense 290 197

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 1-0

Punts-Avg. 1-42.0 3-25.0

Penalties-Yards 4-50 5-25

St. Edmond 37 14 14 0– 65

Ar-We-Va 0 0 13 6–19

Scoring Summary

St. Edmond — Klay Baker (3-yard run), 9:47 left in first. JT Laufersweiler run.

St. Edmond — Baker (18-yard interception return), 8:48 left in first. Alex Tiernan kick.

St. Edmond — Baker (2-yard run), 6:35 left in first. Laufersweiler-to-Johnny Dickerson conversion.

St. Edmond — Dickerson (17-yard pass from Laufersweiler), 5:03 left in first. Tiernan kick.

St. Edmond — Baker (1-yard run), 3:31 left in first. Tiernan kick.

St. Edmond — Dickerson (6-yard pass from Laufersweiler), 3:27 left in second. Tiernan kick.

St. Edmond — Caleb Schaeffer (40-yard run), :06 left in second. Tiernan kick.

St. Edmond — Safety, 10:28 left in third.

St. Edmond — Laufersweiler (43-yard run), 7:27 left in third. Kick failed.

Ar-We-Va — Wyatt Regaller (74-yard pass from Blayne Smith), 6:12 left in third. Wade Ragaller kick.

St. Edmond — Ethan Swisher (4-yard run), 4:02 left in third. Kick failed.

Ar-We-Va — Wy. Ragaller (10-yard run), :09 left in third. Kick failed.

Ar-We-Va — Wa. Ragaller (22-yard pass from Smith), 3:36 left in fourth. Kick failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Caleb Schaeffer 4-68, JT Laufersweiler 5-53, Klay Baker 10-19, Jakob Koopman 1-18, Kinnick Henning 6-6, Ethan Swisher 1-4, Drake Vandi 1-3. Ar-We-Va: Wyatt Ragaller 8-30, Wade Ragaller 5-28, Harley Molina 1-3, Team 1-(minus-5), Blayne Smith 5-(minus-29).

Passing — St. Edmond: JT Laufersweiler 6-9-0-118, Ethan Swisher 1-1-0-11. Ar-We-Va: Drew Blayne Smith 12-26-2-170.

Receiving — St. Edmond: Johnny Dickerson 5-88, Caleb Schaeffer 1-23, Dominic McClain 1-18. Ar-We-Va: Wyatt Ragaller 6-118, Harley Molina 2-43, Wade Ragaller 2-20, Jonathan Riesselman 2-(minus-6).