[9/12/03]The start of region play couldn’t come soon enough for St. Aloysius. Coming off a devastating loss to St. Andrew’s, a fresh start is exactly what the Flashes needed.

St. Al (1-1) will travel to face Mount Olive (0-2) tonight at 7:30. St. Al will try to get back on the winning path after suffering a 26-6 loss last week in which it committed four turnovers, allowed six plays of 25 yards or more, and allowed two running backs to gain over 100 yards.

“This is a restart. I guess you can say we’re 1-1 in the preseason and now we start division play. This is a new beginning for us, and it gives us an extra incentive to play,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said. “It’s not a must-win toward the standings, but it’s a must-win just to get ourselves back on the right track.”

The Flashes blasted Mount Olive last season, building a 35-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 42-14 victory. That was a different year and a different team, however. This year’s model is without the offensive firepower of last year’s group and has been wracked with injuries.

Fullback Russ Nelson, who has been nursing an ankle sprain, is the latest casualty for St. Al. He may miss the game against Mount Olive, and joins running back Austin Golding (broken thumb) and wide receiver Anthony Rector (ankle) as the Flashes’ walking wounded.

“That chips into three skill players right there,” Taylor said.

Mount Olive also seems to be a different team than it was a year ago. The Pirates have been outscored 65-6 in losses to Bassfield and Seminary this season, but came on strong at the end of 2002 to finish 6-5 and narrowly miss a playoff berth.

Mount Olive only has 25 players on the roster and starts a half-dozen sophomores, but against a thin St. Al team the depth factor should be negated.

“We took those two games and called them practice games,” Mount Olive coach Jackie Simpson said.

For St. Al, the next two games against Mount Olive and Stringer are much more than practice.

Only two of the 10 teams in Region 4-1A Cathedral and Bogue Chitto made it through the first two weeks of the season without a loss. That means all four of the region’s automatic playoff bids are up for grabs, and a good start is vital for any team’s chances of earning a trip to the postseason.

“We don’t get something going here this week and next week, we’ll be down the tubes,” Taylor said. “Nobody in our division has had a real good start. It’s sort of wide open right now, and we can either step through the door or go home. If you lose to Mount Olive, who’s not picked to be a contender, you’re in big trouble.”