Powerful Halinski leads St. Al into playoffs|[11/9/06]

Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 9, 2006

For the first time since a St. Aloysius uniform, Alex Halinski is going to suit up for a playoff game.

Friday night, Halinski and the Flashes travel to the D’Iberville Sports Complex to battle the Mercy Cross Crusaders (10-1) in a first-round Class 1A playoff game.

&#8220Going to the playoffs for the first time in four years is pretty exciting,” said Halinski who is a big reason why the Flashes are headed to the Gulf Coast.

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He has powered the St. Al offense from the fullback position with a career best 1,309 yards rushing on 203 carries. He has also scored 17 touchdowns, moving him into fifth place on the school’s career list.

&#8220In the wing-T, you expect the fullback to be the dominant runner and he’s carried that load and answered the call for us,” St. Al coach Jim Taylor said. &#8220He’s met the expectations we needed out of that position.”

The Flashes (8-3) enter the playoffs after winning their last three games in impressive fashion, including last week’s 35-14 romp over Pisgah. The streak started after a nightmarish 69-7 loss to Region 3-1A champion Puckett. Halinski said the loss helped spark the team’s latest run.

&#8220It was a horrible experience, but I also think it served to wake us up a little bit,” he said.

Mercy Cross finished second in Region 4-1A and is coming off a 45-28 win over Natchez Cathedral, the one common opponent for both teams. The Flashes beat Cathedral 12-7 in the season opener in Vicksburg.

&#8220It’s hard to tell if that means anything,” Mercy Cross coach Rocky Gaudin said. &#8220We got down 21-7 to Cathedral but we came out real flat and our best player didn’t play. Then we started to play hard and took it to them.”

The Crusaders impress Halinksi and Taylor.

&#8220They are a fundamentally sound team,” Halinski said. &#8220The quarterback throws the ball well but he also likes to run. Cathedral ran the ball pretty well on them. It’s a good match-up. It’ll depend on who wants it the most.”

&#8220Their quarterback is pretty sharp and they like to mix it up,” Taylor said.

&#8220We’ve been banged up for most of the season and we’re lucky to get through a good 1A region,” Gaudin said. &#8220St. Al looks a lot like us. It should make for an interesting high school football game.”

Halinski is shooting for a win Friday to extend his successful senior season, but if it ends, he’s looking to play at the next level.

&#8220My dad’s made a highlight tape and we’ve gotten some letters. I really like Arkansas because I was born there. It seems as if nobody uses a fullback anymore, but they do at Arkansas,” Halinski said.

Mercy Cross, meanwhile, is trying to extend the school’s football program for at least another week. The school is closing in May in order to merge with rival Gulfport St. John. The new school will be called St. Patrick and will be based in Woolmarket, a community just north of Biloxi.