Homecoming has arrived for the St. Edmond football team, as the Gaels host ninth-ranked GTRA Friday night inside Dodger Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

It has been a fun week filled with festivities around the school, but the focus now turns to getting back on track.

St. Edmond (2-2 overall) suffered a 44-22 setback to No. 2 Audubon last week in a key district showdown. While this one has no barring on the district race, it is important for gaining momentum back.

“It was a very focused week of practice by our guys,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “Even with all the distractions that come with Homecoming, we had great attention to detail and I’m excited to see us get back out there.”

After falling behind early to the Wheelers, the Gaels battled back behind three touchdown passes from Ethan Swisher. The junior hit Grant Galles, Dominic McClain and Jakob Koopman for scores, finishing with 160 yards in the air.

Aaron Hindt had a team-high 81 yards rushing while both Galles and McClain combined for eight receptions and 100 yards receiving.

“We played a very good football team to a 14-14 draw in the second half (vs. Audubon),” Dillon said. “We can build off that. You have to take the little wins when you get them and I was proud of our guys for competing and not giving up.”

Swisher, in his first season as the starting quarterback, has thrown for 507 yards with 10 touchdowns. Galles has 14 receptions for 271 and five scores while McClain has nine for 139.

Klay Baker, a senior, is the leading rusher with 203 yards and four touchdowns followed by Hindt, a sophomore who has 193 and a score.

The St. Edmond defense had trouble containing Audubon’s Aaron Olsen and Carson Wessel who led a ground attack that racked up 246 yards rushing. They will face much the same from GTRA (4-0) in the form of quarterback Kasey Hough.

Hough, a senior, has 441 yards in the air and 317 on the ground with 16 combined scores. Both Kenny Ness and Caleb Swedin have over 100 yards rushing, with Swedin scoring five times.

Jaxson Schnell, also a senior, is the leading target with 14 receptions for 270 yards and seven TDs.

GTRA has picked up wins over West Bend-Mallard, Rockford, Northwood Kensett and Siouxland Christian, scoring over 60 points in three of those. The combined record of those four is 10-22 compared to the 22-11 record held by the four opponents for the Gaels.

“It all starts with Hough for them,” Dillon said. “He is a tremendous athlete and an improved passer. We’ve got to limit the big plays by him.”

Hough, Schnell and many others have been involved in two of the three other meetings with St. Edmond. The Gaels have won each of those, 46-36 last year and 35-0 in 2022. The Titans won the first in 2021, 64-13.