Photo by Jim Nelson/Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: St. Edmond’s Aaron Hindt runs the ball against Janesville on Friday night in the first round of the eight-man playoffs.

JANESVILLE – It was a tale of two halves here Friday night for the St. Edmond football team.

Leading Janesville 14-13 at the break, the Gaels saw that advantage quickly go away, as the Wildcats scored seven straight touchdowns to secure a 56-14 victory and advance in the eight-player playoffs.

Janesville (8-1 overall) will find out its next opponent on Saturday when the pairings are announced. For the Gaels (5-4), their season ends following the first playoff appearance since 2020.

“Listen, they have some phenomenal players who really were physical,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “We just couldn’t match that – especially after Adam (Walker) went down.”

Walker, St. Edmond’s senior all-stater, left the game in the second quarter and would not return. This was his final time in a Gael uniform along with classmates Klay Baker, Sam Myer, Dominic McClain and Quintin Jaeschke.

“Great kids who gave us everything they had,” Dillon said of the seniors. “I wish we could have sent them out with a much better half of football but that is the way it goes. We just couldn’t get anything going there after the break.”

The Gaels took an early lead when Ethan Swisher found Baker all alone following a turnover by the Wildcats. Swisher, who was forced out of action following a heavy hit in the second half, threw for 87 yards while under heavy pressure all night.

“Between losing Adam and Ethan, it just wasn’t our night,” Dillon said. “You take out your best interior player and force your quarterback to try and play with a broken finger. It just limited what we could do and what we could stop.”

Janesville answered back following a St. Edmond miscue on special teams as Dane Appleby found the end zone for the first of his five touchdowns. Appleby ran 28 times for 164 yards to lead the way.

The Gaels, though, put the pressure right back on when Swisher found Dominic McClain for a touchdown. Swisher, a junior, hit Jakob Koopman on the conversion to put St. Edmond back up, 14-13.

From there, it was all Wildcats, as Appleby scored for the second time before the half and had his third touchdown minutes into the third quarter. Janesville had a defensive touchdown on the next play before two more Appleby TDs prior to the end of the quarter.

Baker and McClain both finished with three receptions, McClain had an interception and Jaeschke a fumble recovery.

This was the first winning season since 2020 and the first time qualifying for the playoffs since reaching the semifinals in 2014.

“It was a tremendous season,” Dillon said. “It’s hard to think about it right now but these kids have a lot to be proud of.”

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing-St. Edmond: Aaron Hindt 11-20, Sam Myer 3-19, Klay Baker 3-3, Ethan Swisher 3-0, Ty Mericle 2-(minus-10), Team 3-(minus-22). Janesville: Dane Appleby 28-164, Talan Pletz 9-96, Daniel Britt 2-15, Blayne Porter 1-5, Tayler Kibbee 1-2, Gabe Reeves 1-(minus-2), Jayden Butler 2-(minus-3).

Passing-St. Edmond: Ethan Swisher 6-14-1-87, Ty Mericle 2-6-1-9. Janesville: Dane Appleby 3-9-1-2.

Receiving-St. Edmond: Klay Baker 3-34, Dominic McClain 3-32, Aaron Hindt 1-26, Grant Galles 1-4. Janesville: Jayden Butler 1-4, Talan Pletz 2-(minus-2).