-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Aaron Hindt of St. Edmond dives for the endzone against GTRA on Friday inside Dodgers Stadium

Matt Dillon was quick to focus on a couple of key things in the aftermath of a heartbreaking loss for his St. Edmond football team here Friday night inside Dodger Stadium.

Ninth-ranked GTRA remained unbeaten thanks to a pair of stunning throws by backup quarterback Teagan Hanson to secure a thrilling 54-46 double-overtime victory over the Gaels on Homecoming.

Hanson, who came on for Kasey Hough after the senior went down, found Isaiah Malm and hit Jaxson Schnell for the conversion.

From there, the Titan (5-0 overall) defense rose up, getting a stop to secure the win.

“Losing is never fun but these kids experienced what playoff football will be like,” Dillon said. “The good part of all this is that is doesn’t hurt us in the district. We know the next three weeks will decide that.

“Last year, we won (vs. GTRA) but I think it took a lot out of us mentally and physically. Now, we have the opportunity to reverse that.”

Hough did not come off the field for a single snap until going down in the extra session, finishing the night with 332 yards passing and 131 yards rushing. He threw three touchdowns and ran in two more while also playing defense, handling punt duties and returning kicks.

“He is a special, special talent,” Dillon said. “And give (Hanson) credit for coming in and making those plays. That’s a very good football team, and the third very good football team we have played already this year.”

Senior Klay Baker had three rushing scores and 50 yards on the ground for St. Edmond (2-3), as Ethan Swisher threw for 191 and had a pair of rushing scores. Grant Galles caught eight passes for 118 and Sam Myer returned a kickoff for a TD.

Aaron Hindt ran for 99 yards and a score, with 95 of those coming in the first half that saw GTRA take a slim 14-12 lead into the break. Dominic McClain had four receptions for 51 yards while Swisher ran for 43.

“I’m disappointed because we lost but I’m more excited because we fought like heck for four quarters against a really good football team,” Dillon said. “I can’t fathom another schedule out there that has three teams at 5-0 on it like we do.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Gaels would take the lead after TD runs by Hindt and Baker. Hindt carried the load on his scoring drive, rushing four times for 47 yards.

GTRA snuck in a score with nine seconds left in the half to go up on a 1-yard plunge by Hough. After a Hough touchdown pass to Malm, Myer fielded a short kickoff and darted to the end zone.

The fourth would become a scorefest, as 32 points went up on the board in just over five minutes. The Titans ent up 38-32 before the Gaels would tie it and force overtime on Baker’s third rushing score of the night.

St. Edmond had the chance to win it in regulation but opted for a two-point conversion following a penalty on GTRA that moved the ball closer.

On defense, Adam Walker, Koleman Hanson and Quintin Jaeschke each had a sack.

After two straight home games, the Gaels now hit the road for two of three, starting with a trip to Coon Rapids-Bayard (1-4, 1-2) this Friday. The Crusaders lost to second-ranked Audubon last night, 64-6.

SE G

First Downs 19 21

Rushes-Yards 41-161 36-117

Passing 191 348

Comp-Att-Int 12-26-1 24-34-0

Total Offense 352 465

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0

Punts-Avg. 3-40.0 5-36.8

Penalties-Yards 5-55 10-80

St. Edmond 0 12 6 20 8 0– 46

GTRA 0 14 6 18 8 8–54

Scoring Summary

GTRA — Caleb Swedin (16-yard run), 11:06 left in second. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Aaron Hindt (4-yard run), 4:18 left in second. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Klay Baker (3-yard run), 1:48 left in second. Conversion failed.

GTRA — Kasey Hough (1-yard run), :09 left in second. Hough-to-Jaxson Schnell conversion.

GTRA — Isaiah Malm (7-yard pass from Hough), 2:28 left in third. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Sam Myer (50-yard kickoff return), 2:17 left in third. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Baker (4-yard run), 11:55 left in fourth. Ethan Swisher-to-Baker conversion.

GTRA — Malm (14-yard pass from Hough), 10:21 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

GTRA — Hough (17 yard run), 9:39 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Swisher (10-yard run), 8:37 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

GTRA — Schnell (54-yard pass from Hough), 6:53 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Baker (3-yard run), :24 left in fourth. Conversion failed.

St. Edmond — Swisher (10-yard run), in overtime. Swisher-to-Grant Galles conversion.

GTRA — Hough (10-yard run), in overtime. Hough-to-Landen Dietrich conversion.

GTRA — Malm (15-yard pass from Teagan Hanson), in overtime. Hanson-to-Schnell conversion.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Aaron Hindt 11-99, Klay Baker 16-50, Ethan Swisher 7-43, Sam Myer 3-7, Team 4-(minus-38). GTRA: Kasey Hough 29-131, Caleb Swedin 3-17, Landen Dietrich 1-(minus-6), Team 3-(minus-25).

Passing — St. Edmond: Ethan Swisher 15-25-1-191. GTRA: Kasey Hough 23-33-0-332, Teagan Hanson 1-1-0-16.

Receiving — St. Edmond: Grant Galles 8-118, Dominic McClain 4-51, Aaron Hindt 2-16, Klay Baker 1-4, Sam Myer 1-2. GTRA: Jaxson Schnell 5-164, Caleb Swedin 9-81, Landen Dietrich 3-45, Isaiah Malm 4-29, Kenny Ness 2-17.