Jesuit made plays on defense that helped keep the score close into the second half against St. Augustine.

Included among them was a fumble forced by senior Zachary Friloux and recovered by junior Jack Maguire in the first quarter, plus a fourth-down pass breakup by senior Cole Puneky, who later intercepted a pass in the third quarter — all before St. Augustine scored its final four touchdowns in a 46-23 victory last week at The Shrine on Airline.

“We made enough plays to kind of stay in it at times,” Jesuit coach Ryan Manale said afterward.

The Blue Jays (4-2, 1-2 District 9-5A) will need a similar effort this week against top-ranked Edna Karr (6-0, 3-0) when the teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday back at the Shrine.

The teams played a close game last year when Jesuit limited Karr to a season-low point total in the Cougars’ 21-9 win.

Jesuit kept the score close against St. Augustine with the two takeaways on defense, plus three field goals by Ethan Cabos. The Blue Jays did not reach the end zone until junior Hayes Mestayer caught two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Roman Larre had a catch near the back of the end zone but was ruled out of bounds in the first half.

“We settled for field goals instead of touchdowns in the first half,” Manale said.

Jesuit has played the past four games without senior starting quarterback Taylor Norton after he hurt his thumb in the Week 2 win against E.D. White.

Sophomore Sully Sullivan has started the past four games, gaining good experience in the process. He had two rushing touchdowns in the Week 5 win against Holy Cross.

Another backup, Mani Vandenweghe, sparked Jesuit in a fourth-quarter comeback to take a lead on Brother Martin in Week 4 before the Crusaders won with a field goal at the end — but Vandenweghe has not played since then because of a rib injury suffered late in that game.

“Sully, he’s getting great, great minutes right now, and a lot of good film to look at,” Manale said. “You see the good, you see the bad, you see the ugly to improve himself. Hopefully we get our senior back sooner than later. Right now, he’s able to practice on a limited basis. He’s getting closer and closer.”

Remaining games for Jesuit after facing Karr are against John Curtis, Rummel and Warren Easton.

“In this league you got to come play every week,” Manale said. “It’s going to get tougher and tougher.”

But with a defense built to keep games close and a senior quarterback inching back toward full strength, the Blue Jays believe they’ll be ready for whatever comes next.