EDGARD — West St. John High (3-2) has won three of its last four football games following a heartbreaking loss in Week 1 to rival St. James High School, putting the Rams in great shape as they make their way into the second half of the season.

The Rams, playing in Class 1A this season, have two losses to larger squads in 3A and 4A, games that toughened up West St. John for its District 8-1A schedule, which begins Friday against undefeated Houma Christian.

“We’re moving forward and have to continue to work and fix mistakes,” coach Brandon Walters said. “If we are consistent in what we are doing, we’re going to be pretty successful going forward.”

Consistency, mainly on defense, is going to be key for the Rams going forward. Three times this season they have allowed 12 or fewer points, while on two occasions they have given up 36 or more points.

Finding defensive balance and continuing to grow the offense around sophomore quarterback D’Andre Gaudia could foretell a strong 2017.

Gaudia, who has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, seems destined for big things, especially with talents around him like running backs Kylan Duhe and Niko Roy, as well as receiver Trenton Gros.

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Covan Varnes has played well, Walters said.

District play in the second half of 2017 means games against Covenant Christian and St. Martin’s.

Despite the challenge, Walters said if his guys buy in and continue to work, “the sky’s the limit with this group.”

“We have some veteran guys in a lot of positions,” he said. “Of course we lost a few people in some important spots, but the guys since then have stepped up over the spring and the summer and seem to be pretty eager to get it right now.

“Our district is a new challenge to us in and of itself. We’ve never played any of those teams. The biggest thing now is finding out some things about those teams.”