[08/29/02]St. Aloysius coach Jim Taylor knows that anytime his team plays a school with “Saint” in front of it, it will be a battle.

“Anytime the Catholic schools play each other it’s a big rivalry,” Flashes coach Jim Taylor said. “This is like Vicksburg-Warren Central except we’re doing it the first game of the year, and it usually boils down to the team that is in the best condition.

“It’s always a battle.”

The Flashes’ weapons of choice will be senior quarterback Chad Cox throwing to an offense that “is going to be pretty well spread around,” and coupled with the three-headed running attack of Michael Head, Greg Smith and Walker Hengst.

Greenville-St. Joe will counter with a young, strong defense and a spread offense from first year coach, and “(Steve) Spurrier disciple,” Shane Schlichet.

“It’s a David versus Goliath thing,” Schlichet said. “St. Aloysius is loaded with a pretty good bunch.”

The Flashes have had the upper hand in the series, winning three of the last four games, but depth could present a problem as the majority of the workload falls in the hands of 11 seniors.

“We’re doing our best to play as few people as we can both ways, but when it comes down to it, you’re going to have your best 11 on the field,” Taylor said. “So everybody has got to play and contribute both ways for us to be able to win.”

With the dismissal of many upperclassmen due to rules violations, Greenville’s team will be compiled primarily of freshmen and sophomores.

Senior running back, Will Byas, and sophomore quarterback Max Freeman will be the focal point of the Greenville attack.

“We’re young and we’re wet, but we’re going to play a solid 48 minutes,” Schlichet said. “Our strong point is our sophomores, and if they play well we should stay within 28 points.

“We’re just looking for some mercy.”

Taylor admits to knowing little about the young Greenville team, he expects a tough fight.

“As a general rule, St. Joe is a well-prepared team, someone you expect is going to do you good to play against,” he said. “We always think that it’s a game that we got a good opportunity to win. It’s a good kickoff game for us.”