[9/19/03]The St. Aloysius Flashes have been manhandled, crushed, and any other number of adjectives you can think of in their last two games.

St. Andrew’s and Mount Olive outscored St. Al 73-24 in a pair of losses, and racked up a combined 775 yards of total offense.

Still, with only three games in the books, coach Jim Taylor believes it’s too soon to write off the season. A win at region rival Stringer tonight would put a smile back on the Flashes’ faces and keep a postseason berth a realistic goal.

“We win Friday night, and we’re back at .500, we’re 1-1 in the division, and theoretically the numbers are still there,” Taylor said. “The main thing is we’ve got to keep working and we’ve got to improve.”

On paper, Stringer seems like a good opponent for the Flashes to improve against. The Red Devils are 0-2 (0-1 in Region 4-1A), and have managed only 13 points in their two games all of them in an 18-13 loss to region rival Bogue Chitto.

Stringer’s run-oriented offense has failed to click so far, coach John Guthrie said.

“Our defense has played good in spots, but our offense has struggled all year,” Guthrie said. “We’re a little more consistent on defense. Offensively, we haven’t found our niche.”

The same could be said of the Flashes this season. Quarterback Drew Mazzanti has thrown the ball well at times, and is 13-for-30 for 186 yards and one touchdown on the year.

The running game has also been solid, with Rob Jones totaling 334 yards to lead the team.

But turnovers and a leaky defense have hurt St. Al. Mazzanti has thrown three interceptions, and the offense fumbled five times losing two against Mount Olive.

The defense, hit hard by injuries to key players like defensive back Anthony Rector and lineman Russ Nelson, has surrendered more than 300 yards per game. Mount Olive gained 324 of its 384 total yards on the ground last week.

Taylor refused to pin blame, however. He said it’s simply a case of having a different type of team than he’s had in the past.

“We haven’t blocked and tackled. It’s simple,” Taylor said. “It’s common for us to play teams that have more, better athletes. We’ve been able to outplay them, outfinesse them, and use team quickness, and we haven’t been able to do those things this year.”