A special week will continue on the gridiron here Friday night for the St. Edmond football team.

The Gaels host rival Bishop Garrigan for Homecoming inside Dodger Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Both St. Edmond (2-3 overall, 1-2 in district) and the Golden Bears (2-3, 1-2) are looking for momentum as we enter the stretch run of the season. And both understand the importance a win over the other would play.

“The kids are excited to be back home after two really tough road games in back-to-back weeks,” Dillon said. “It’s Homecoming and your rival, so they should be ready to go.

“We have everything we want still sitting right there in front of us; we just have to take care of business.”

Following a 2-1 start to the year with wins over Ar-We-Va and North Iowa at home, the Gaels come in having dropped back-to-back road games vs. Harris-Lake Park and top-ranked Remsen St. Mary’s.

The offense moved the ball well at Harris-Lake Park two weeks ago, but SEHS was kept off the scoreboard vs. the Hawks, suffering a shutout loss for the first time since the 2019 season.

Junior JT Laufersweiler has been the catalyst on offense, throwing for almost 800 yards while running for 350. He has six passing touchdowns and seven rushing scores — all of which lead the team.

Sophomore Klay Baker has 168 yards on the ground and 60 in the air with four combined touchdowns, senior Johnny Dickerson has caught 28 passes for 418 yards and three scores, and senior Caleb Schaeffer has 200 yards of total offense and a TD.

Dominic McClain, a 10th-grader; Leo Ehn, a junior; and freshmen Kinnick Henning and Ethan Swisher have all scored touchdowns for St. Edmond, which has won each of the past two meetings with Bishop Garrigan.

“We are going to continue using (the younger players) and see how they come out,” Dillon said. “They had three really good junior varsity games, but the competition obviously beefs up when you start playing at the varsity level.”

Sam Myer, a sophomore, leads the Gael defense with 39 tackles, while Baker and Henning have 27.5 and 26.5. As a collective unit, St. Edmond has forced five turnovers and scored three defensive touchdowns.

The Golden Bears started off with wins over Janesville and North Iowa, but have since fallen to West Bend-Mallard, No. 4 Newell-Fonda and Harris-Lake Park, scoring just 26 total points in those defeats.

Garrett Heying, a senior, has thrown for 407 yards with three TDs, adding another 150 and two scores on the ground. Classmate Cal Birkey has 337 yards rushing, 177 yards receiving and six touchdowns.

Aidan Hovey, another senior, has 10 receptions for 141 yards and two TDs. Birkey and Heying also anchor a defense that has forced five turnovers.

“Garrigan runs through the quarterback, as he can beat you with his feet or his arm,” Dillon said. “The key, just like it has been in almost every game this year, is for us to try and contain the quarterback. We have struggled with that, and that is when we have gotten ourselves into trouble.”

The series between St. Edmond and Bishop Garrigan dates back to 1959, with the Gaels winning 26-7 that year. Overall, they have played 61 times, with the Golden Bears holding a 40-21 edge.

After not meeting each other in 2006 and ’07, the two have faced off each year since, with St. Edmond leading that run of games, 9-5.