Mamou and St. Eds (1-1) meet in a battle of old district foes Friday night. The Green Demons (0-2) return home after an upsetting loss to Opelousas Catholic. The Demons felt as though they should have been able to defeat the Vikings, but dropped passes and miscues on special teams hurt their chances. The Demons had a total of 12 dropped passes and a bad snap on a punt really cost Mamou points and momentum.

The return of quarterback Ben Israel is going to help Mamou as they go through their schedule. The Demons’ offense opens up quite a bit with the junior signal caller back under center. He threw for over 100 yards last week despite the dropped passes. He hit Aaron Johnson three times for 129 yards and a score.

Mamou’s offensive line played very well last week, but will receive another true test this week. The stronger and more experienced St. Eds team will be one to reckon with. Mamou has not run the ball well yet to date, so once again, this will be a good week for them to gain play time as their district schedule quickly approaches.

St. Eds runs the ball very well. They collected 164 yards on the ground last week against Iota and over 100 yards the week before. What’s very non-traditional about the Blue Jays is their ability to throw the ball efficiently. SEH signal caller David Lafleur is one of the best passers in the school’s rich football history. Lafleur was 9 of 12 last week for 137 yards. He hit Adam Clause four times and Andre Aguillard twice. Like other quarterbacks the Demons will face this year, Lafleur has the ability to run and throw the ball with effectiveness. He rushed for nearly 100 yards in both games this year.

Mamou’s defense has surrendered over 35 points in both games this year. They are still young and learning more and more each week. This week will not be any easier for the Demons as St. Eds brings a team in that can score quickly and often. The Blue Jays put up 35 points in the first two quarters last week.

With that said, the Blue Jays defense is equally impressive. As with the offense, Lafleur has a huge role with this unit. He picked off a pass in both games and last week, he returned an interception for a touchdown. However, the Rayne Wolves used turnovers and miscues to take advantage of St. Eds in week one. Rayne put up 24 points against the Blue Jays.

For the Demons, this week three match-up is crucial for them to continue learing and continue to get better. With all the young players in the line-up, Mamou is pretty much looking to get more and more minutes under their belts. No matter the outcome, Mamou Head Coach John Lafleur is a patient coach and he knows that youth takes time to grow into a well-oiled machine. With only four seniors, his team must go through their growing pains early in the season.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Mamou.