St. Aloysius’ season was a lesson in frustration.

In each game, the Flashes seemed to have a fumble at the end of a long drive, a pass that was just a little too long, a penalty at exactly the wrong time, or a missed extra point. And nearly every time, it came back to bite them in the end.

The miscues helped St. Al lose three games by seven points or less, two others they had a chance to win before losing big, and led to a 4-7 record.

&#8220I think our record was not indicative of how we could play. Early in the year we just didn’t get the job done,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said. &#8220We probably could’ve been just as easily 9-2 as we were 4-7, with a break here or there.”

While the mistakes provided ample reason for the Flashes to ask what if, they also provided a ray of hope for the future. With the bulk of this year’s team returning in 2006, Taylor believes the Flashes will correct their youthful errors and are on the brink of a breakthrough season.

Leading rusher Alex Halinski, who gained nearly 900 yards and scored 13 touchdowns this season, will be back for his senior season. So will tight end John Robert Burnett and most of the offensive line. Only center Edward Segrest is gone among the starters up front.

Leading receiver Chip Donald, who caught 15 passes for 334 yards and three TDs this season, will be back for his junior year.

&#8220I think we have a tremendous opportunity to have an outstanding team. We have lots of skill players coming back,” Taylor said. &#8220I think we’re really sitting in a good position. It just depends on how hard we work.”

The biggest question marks are at quarterback and on defense.

This season, seniors Daniel Halinski and Chris Baer split time at quarterback. With both gone, the signal-calling duties will likely fall to sophomore-to-be Chris Lewis. Another sophomore in 2006, Price Blagg, will also be in the running for the starting spot.

&#8220We feel like Chris Lewis is going to be an outstanding quarterback. You can’t be in a better position than to have somebody who has the potential to be a three-year starter,” Taylor said. &#8220(Lewis) didn’t play a lot this year, but he got a lot of playing time in practice.”

Defensively, the Flashes have a lot of holes to fill. Five starters are gone, including the top two tacklers, Noah Slater and John Buckman.

Both players transferred in from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city, and both had outstanding seasons. Slater led the team with 164 tackles, while Buckman made 81 stops, intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles.

Taylor said a number of young players have seen playing time in the past, and will ably fill in the missing pieces next season.

&#8220I think we have enough returning lettermen that we should have no dropoff,” Taylor said. &#8220We have three or four guys with experience at linebacker, a few on the defensive line, and my mama can play safety. That’s an easy position.”

If the Flashes don’t have a dropoff from the way they ended their season, they’ll be in good shape. Benefiting from a weaker part of the schedule, they won their last three games to help ease the pain of the missed opportunities earlier in the year.

It’s those wins, and not the losses, that Taylor believes the Flashes will carry over into 2006.

&#8220I think that’s what the kids are going to remember,” he said. &#8220They were terribly excited by the wins. Without me doing anything, there’s going to be a lot of carryover.”