St. Al’s David Weiland drags down a West Lincoln player during one of the Flashes’ five victories at the end of this season. St. Al ended the year 6-5. (Jenny SevcikThe Vicksburg Post)

[11/12/03]The St. Aloysius Flashes won’t be making any preparations for a playoff game this season. They won’t be making any excuses or worrying about what might have been, either.

St. Al saw its playoff chances dashed early in the season with a 1-4 start, a slew of injuries, and a couple of close losses. The Flashes rebounded to win five of their last six, and capped the season with a 34-25 win over archrival Cathedral on Friday night.

Although they missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons, the strong finish and the win over Cathedral that gave St. Al (6-5) a winning record left them smiling on Monday.

“I really think, as far as the season was concerned and our senior players are concerned, I felt like it wound up being a good experience for them,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said. “Even with not making the playoffs, it was an enjoyable season and I credit that to the improvement that we made over the season.”

Part of the reason for St. Al’s second-half surge was a weaker schedule their last six opponents had a combined record of 23-40, while their first five were 30-24 but the Flashes also got better as both their younger and older players gained experience.

Injuries forced several veterans to play out of position, and some freshmen to play before they normally would have had to.

“We were really raw on players with playing experience,” Taylor said. “We moved people around and called on them to do things they had never done before, even though they were seniors.”

While the younger players took some lumps early this season, it might pay dividends down the road. St. Al will lose nine seniors to graduation for next season, and only has five juniors.

Most of the offensive line returns, however, leaving only the skill positions to be filled. Junior running back Rob Jones, who rushed for 1,253 yards and 18 touchdowns this season, returns, but quarterback Drew Mazzanti and his top two receivers, Anthony Rector and David Weiland, will not.

“Probably our skill positions are our next places that have to be filled,” Taylor said. “That generally hasn’t been a problem for us. We’ve always had skill people.”

This year’s seniors responded to the challenges thrown at them.

Mazzanti threw for nearly 900 yards more than St. Al had had in the last three years combined and Rector and Weiland combined for 26 catches, 536 yards, and eight touchdowns.

Off the field, they helped keep the team together through the early-season struggles.

“That was one of the good things about the season,” Weiland said. “We got sad, we got disappointed, but we never got to the point where we didn’t think we could do it.”

Against Cathedral, they capped their high school careers with one final outstanding performance. Mazzanti did a good job of running the football and threw a touchdown pass to Rector, who also returned a kickoff for a score.

Another senior, Austin Golding, set up a touchdown with a long run and junior running back Rob Jones benefited by rushing for 183 yards and three touchdowns.

The Flashes’ win over their Catholic school rivals was their sixth in a row in the series, and took a lot of the sting out of missing the playoffs. Ending the year with a win over Cathedral was, in a lot of ways, better than finishing with a loss in the playoffs, players and coaches said.

“That’s the best way to end any year, is by beating Cathedral,” senior lineman Steven Rottman said.

Taylor added that preparing to face any other opponent in the same situation would have been much more difficult.

“The best thing that happened to us when we went to the regions was getting Cathedral as that last game of the season,” Taylor said. “If we had gotten Salem on Friday night, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun working when you’re out of the playoffs. It was a fitting way to end the season. I think it meant a whole lot to the community, to the parents and fans.”