[9/24/04]It’s amazing what a win can do.

Seven days ago, the St. Aloysius Flashes were a struggling ball club seeking their first victory. The line wasn’t blocking well, the defense had trouble stopping anyone, and the players wondered just how long the season would be.

One week later, St. Al’s tune has changed. They beat Stringer 20-13 last Friday for their first win of the season, found a couple of new offensive weapons in the process, and are now looking at a favorable late-season schedule as a yellow-brick road to the playoffs.

“We’ve got a little more pep in our step and have a lot more reason to be positive,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement in practice, as far as attitudes and everything like that.”

The Flashes will try to make it two in a row tonight at Bogue Chitto. The Bobcats (0-4) haven’t won this season, but they haven’t been far from victory, either.

Bogue Chitto lost its first two games by a total of 14 points before being blown out by St. Andrew’s and Mize the last two weeks. Bogue Chitto runs a multiple-look offense and has enough talent to give the Flashes fits, Taylor said.

“I think Bogue Chitto’s record may be somewhat deceptive,” Taylor said. “Stringer and St. Andrew’s beat them handily by the score, but if you look at the tape they were in both games. They shot themselves in the foot a lot.”

The same could be said of the Flashes.

They lost their first three games by a combined total of 122-34 before turning it around against Stringer.

Quarterback Daniel Halinski completed 11 of 15 passes for 146 yards, while running back Alex Halinski rushed for 92 yards. It was a breakout game for both players, and helped take pressure off tailback Rob Jones.

Jones ran for nearly 300 yards in St. Al’s first three games, but was the team’s only offensive weapon. The performance of the Halinskis kept him to only 112 total yards last week 56 rushing and 56 receiving, to go along with three touchdowns but gave him a welcome breather and should open things up as the season goes on.

“He’s like a bear running the ball. He’s not looking at who he hits. He’s going to run over us or the other team,” Jones laughed, referring to Alex Halinski. “They’re letting him run free, and he tore them up. I’ll take 56 (yards) receiving and rushing every day, as long as we win.”

If the Flashes continue to play well, they should be able to do that often. Only one of St. Al’s last seven opponents, state power Mize, has a winning record.

With four teams from each region making the playoffs, that leaves the door wide open for the Flashes to reach the postseason.

“Looking at the schedule, we’ve got a chance to win, on paper, all but one game the rest of the way,” Taylor said, accepting the Mize game on Oct. 8 as a likely defeat. “But you’ve got to play all of them. We’ve got a lot to be upbeat about.”