Turnovers. Penalties. Weird and unfortunate plays. Almost everything that could go wrong for St. Aloysius went wrong last week in its season-opening loss to Adams County Christian School.

Every Friday, however, is a fresh start, and the Flashes are trying to keep that in mind as they prepare for this week’s home game against Cathedral. The rivalry between the Catholic schools will be renewed at 7 p.m. Friday at Farrell Stadium/Balzli Field.

“It can be frustrating, but you have to keep going and keep fighting. You don’t want to get into that quicksand where things keep piling up,” said Walker Mosby, St. Al’s new coach. “Every play is a new play, no matter how the previous one turned out. If we lose 10 yards or gain 20 yards, it doesn’t matter. Every play is a new play for us. That’s what happens to some of the best teams. We just have to keep fighting for it.”

Beating ACCS, the reigning MAIS Class 5A champion, would have been a difficult task under the best of circumstances, and the Flashes’ mistakes didn’t help their cause.

A high snap ended the opening drive into ACCS territory. Two St. Al defensive penalties kept a scoring drive alive for ACCS. A fumbled kickoff and a low snap where the punter accidentally touched his knee while catching gave the Rebels great field position and two more easy touchdowns.

Combined with other, less obvious mistakes, this resulted in a 41-14 loss and many learning points for Mosby in practice this week.

“We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We had three turnovers and gave them good field position on a punt. On offense, we have to get better at running the football. I thought we threw it decently, but we also have to have gap integrity on defense,” Mosby said. “There are a lot of things we need to improve, but the main thing is not shooting ourselves in the foot with the turnovers and giving the other team field position.”

Cathedral finished 2-8 last season, but has a strong offense that can cause problems for the Flashes if they don’t play well. The Green Wave built a 34-point lead in their opening game against Central Hinds before struggling to a 55-37 victory.

Cathedral quarterback Tristan Fondren threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns, and Mosby said the Wave was explosive enough to cause problems for opponents.

“I think they’re a good team. I think they’re well coached. They play hard and don’t make mistakes, and when all those things come together, it helps you,” Mosby said.

Mosby hopes coming together helps St. Al, too. Although it was a rough night against ACCS, he said he was proud of his players for not throwing in the towel. The Flashes scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, making the score a little more respectable and allowing them to carry some momentum into week two.

“We have great athletes. I really believe that. There’s no other group I want to go to war with than these guys we have right now,” Mosby said. “We just execute, we understand our job and protect the football.”

GAMES ON FRIDAY
MAIS regular season – games at 7 p.m.
Prentiss Christian at Porter’s Chapel (Radio: 104.4 FM)
St. Aloysius Cathedral (Radio: 101.3 FM)
Tallulah Academy at Franklin Academy
Red Carpet Bowl – Games at 7:30 p.m.
Holmes County Central in Vicksburg (Radio: 107.7 FM)
Clinton at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)
• Red Carpet Bowl tickets are $10 for each game and are available online at GoFan.co

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of the Vicksburg Post. He has been a member of the Vicksburg Post’s sports desk since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the newspaper’s 140-year history. A native of New Jersey and a graduate of LSU, Bowker has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and the Associated Press over the course of his career for his coverage of local Vicksburg sports.

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