-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Klay Baker of St. Edmond makes a one handed catch against Colo-Nesco on Friday inside Dodgers Stadium

Friday marked a historic night for the St. Edmond football team inside historic Dodger Stadium.

Sophomore Aaron Hindt rushed for an eight-player school-record 310 yards as the Gaels clinched their first eight-player playoff bid with a convincing 43-6 victory over Colo-Nesco.

St. Edmond (4-3 overall, 4-1 in district) secured second place in the standings going into its regular season final at Glidden-Ralston next Friday after third-ranked Audubon topped Collins-Maxwell, 36-24. The Wheelers clinched the district championship.

“These guys have worked their tails off to make this football team better,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “I’m excited for all of this to be happening for them.

“It all starts with those seniors because they have made it their mission to lead this football team.”

Prior to kickoff, Dominic McClain, Klay Baker, Quintin Jaeschke, Sam Myer and Adam Walker were honored by the school and recognized for their efforts. Baker recorded a touchdown while all five played key roles on a defense that did not allow a point until the game was out of reach.

“Those guys have been fun to watch on the defensive side of the ball this season,” Dillon said. “They are flying all around the field and making plays.

“The other team definitely knows they have been in a game by the time it’s all over because of how hard we are hitting.”

St. Edmond held the Royals (4-4, 1-4) 86 yards of total offense in the first half and zero first downs in the second quarter. Colo-Nesco averaged just three yards per play for the game after coming in averaging 11.5 per pass and almost seven per rush.

Baker and Jakob Koopman both had receiving TDs from Ethan Swisher to get the scoring started before Hindt took over, running in four touchdowns over the second and third.

Hindt also had a pair of two-point conversions with Grant Galles adding one on a design trick-play. Galles caught three passes while Baker had two and both Koopman and McClain one.

“Ethan did a great job when we needed him to make a pass, and our kids made plays all night,” Dillon said. “The offensive line had an outstanding job.

“It was just a really fun game to coach and honestly with the way they were executing, it made it pretty easy to call plays.”

The Royals, who had scored 92 points over their last two games, finally got on the board when Jack Angell hit Landon Daggett for a score in the third.

Hindt came into the night having rushed for a team-high 347 yards. He shouldered the load on the final scoring drive, carrying the ball four times for all 75 yards.

St. Edmond picked up a 48-42 victory over Colo-Nesco last year and have now scored at least 40 points in five games this year.

Glidden-Ralston (3-4, 2-3) picked up a 48-6 victory over Coon Rapids-Bayard last night.

SE CN

First Downs 20 10

Rushes-Yards 39-327 35-102

Passing 87 47

Comp-Att-Int 7-10-0 5-13-0

Total Offense 414 149

Fumbles-Lost 4-3 1-0

Punts-Avg. 0-0 4-33.3

Penalties-Yards 8-50 2-20

St. Edmond 21 14 8 0 — 43

Colo-Nesco 0 0 0 6 — 6

Scoring Summary

St. Edmond — Klay Baker (13-yard pass from Ethan Swisher), 7:48 left in first. Kick failed.

St. Edmond — Jakob Koopman (32-yard pass from Swisher), 3:28 left in first. Aaron Hindt run.

St. Edmond — Hindt (44-yard run), :54 left in first. Koleman Hanson kick.

St. Edmond — Hindt (5-yard run), 9:27 left in second. Kick failed.

St. Edmond — Hindt (44-yard run), :42 left in second. Grant Galles run.

St. Edmond — Hindt (4-yard run), 10:12 left in third. Hindt run.

Colo-Nesco — Landon Daggett (11-yard pass from Jack Angell) in third. Conversion failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Aaron Hindt 29-310, Klay Baker 3-26, Ethan Swisher 3-7, Matthew Crimmins 3-(minus-8), Team 1-(minus-8). Colo-Nesco: Breckin Clatt 19-65, Mark Bower 11-28, Jack Angell 4-14, Team 1-(minus-5).

Passing — St. Edmond: Ethan Swisher 7-10-0-87, Thomas Ehn 0-0-0-0. Colo-Nesco: Jack Angell 5-12-0-47, Breckin Clatt 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — St. Edmond: Jakob Koopman 1-32, Klay Baker 2-26, Grant Galles 3-21, Dominic McClain 1-8. Colo-Nesco: Landon Gjerde 1-23, Lucas Daggett 2-20, Breckin Clatt 1-3, Mark Bower 1-1.