NORTHWOOD — To position themselves for a pivotal regular season finale next week, the St. Edmond football team must first take care of business on Friday.

The Gaels face Northwood-Kensett on the road in an 8-Player, District 2 contest.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

On the heels of a big 45-40 Homecoming victory last week over Bishop Garrigan, St. Edmond (3-3 overall, 2-2 in the district) is still on the outside looking in for one of the guaranteed playoff spots.

However, wins over the Vikings (2-4, 1-3) and next week vs. GTRA (5-1, 3-1) would definitely go a long way in securing a spot in the postseason for SEHS head coach Matt Dillon and his program.

“We talked about last week starting a three-week run to end the season for us,” Dillon said. “That’s how we’ve approached it in practice. We can’t worry about what Northwood-Kensett is focusing on, we just have to worry about what we are going to do and playing the best possible game we can play.

“That means running the football, throwing the football, tackling on defense and keeping them out of the end zone.”

The Gaels scored in every quarter against Garrigan, including two TDs in the first, second and third periods. Johnny Dickerson capped the memorial week with 17 receptions for 226 yards and two TDs, giving the senior 45 catches for 644 yards and five scores on the year.

JT Laufersweiler, a junior, threw for 312 yards and had three passing touchdowns to go along with three TDs on the ground. He has 1,086 yards passing, 387 yards rushing and 19 combined scores.

“We want to come out and put pressure on them from the start,” Dillon said. “We want to force them to play from behind and dictate the tempo of the game.”

Northwood-Kensett stepped out of district play last week, falling to No. 4 Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 78-0, in a game played at Wartburg College. Sophomore Colby Eskildsen has over 300 yards passing, while senior Lamonte Sims leads the team with 303 yards rushing.

Eskildsen has thrown three TD passes and ran in two more, with Sims accounting for four total touchdowns.

In a 28-24 triumph over North Iowa last month, Eskildsen had 127 yards of total offense and two TDs, while Sims caught six passes for 79 and a score.

Around that victory, though, Northwood-Kensett has lost to Gladbrook-Reinbeck, West Bend-Mallard, GTRA and Harris-Lake Park by a combined score of 244-12.

Last year, Northwood-Kensett posted a 35-18 victory inside Dodger Stadium over the Gaels.