[10/15/04] St. Aloysius has been on the road so long, assistant coach Jimmy Salmon said he is actually looking forward to painting the field.

The Flashes (1-6) will take their fourth straight road trip tonight when they face Enterprise-Lincoln, a team that has struggled as much as St. Al this year.

St. Al switched a game with Salem earlier in the year, taking a road trip that means the team played four straight on the road. Next week, the Flashes will host Dexter before hitting the road again to West Lincoln.

“They tell me we are playing next week, but they say the only reason we are doing that is because of homecoming,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said with a laugh. “It’s really not a big deal. They schedule us on the road and we go.”

The road has certainly been unkind.

After gaining their first victory of the season on Sept. 17 against Stringer, the Flashes have lost to Salem, Bogue Chitto and Mize. In the Mize game, St. Al did lead 6-0, the only team to hold a lead on the No. 3 team in the state all season.

Taylor said he is hoping to string together a few wins leading up to the finale with Cathedral.

“We are planning on reevaluating our conditioning and offseason workout programs,” Taylor said. “We want more of a commitment.”

St. Al offers 12 sports throughout the season, and with a small enrollment many students play several sports throughout the school year, leaving little time for offseason conditioning.

Taylor said he is planning on getting more participation for his team to become stronger.

“We will definitely have some requirements for our summer program, and they don’t want to meet those, they don’t have to play,” Taylor said. “It’s no one’s fault but mine for letting it get like that.

“The first thing is to make people stronger so they play better. Strength turns into speed, not getting hurt and not minding to hit people.”

Enterprise (2-5) won two of its first three games, but have lost four straight.

“Winning would be really big for us,” Taylor said. “Winning soothes a lot of pain, and if we could win these last four games, it sure would make my winter better.”