St. Aloysius and Porters Chapel Academy have used different methods to achieve successful seasons so far.

They’re about to get the same kind of test, though.

Tailback Ryno Martin-Nez, St. Al’s leader in rushing and receiving yards, as well as interceptions, is out for the season after breaking his right thumb in last week’s 21-13 win over Pisgah. PCA, meanwhile, is dealing with a rash of injuries to a number of starters as it heads into Friday’s key District 5-A game against Central Hinds.

The injuries will have both small schools testing their depth as they hit the stretch run of the season.

“It creates a good opportunity for a few people,” said St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart, whose team plays at Madison-St. Joe on Friday night. “Somebody’s going to pick up those touches. It’s a good opportunity for guys to step up and contribute more.”

Martin-Nez, a junior who sat out last season to focus on baseball — he was an all-county pitcher for the Flashes — was leading the team with 596 rushing yards on 112 carries. He also had a team-high 13 catches for 211 yards, and four interceptions on defense. He had scored 11 touchdowns.

Martin-Nez injured his thumb while making a tackle against Pisgah. He played the whole game, but an examination later revealed the fracture. On Tuesday, he had a large black cast on his hand.

“I got it caught and it snapped back. It broke all the way across the hand,” Martin-Nez said.

Although the broken thumb is on his throwing hand, Martin-Nez expects to be ready for the start of baseball season in February.

“I’m going to start getting ready for baseball now. I’m going to work on my legs and things like that,” he said.

In the meantime, St. Al’s football team will turn to a couple of veterans to pick up the slack. Senior Justin Hosemann and junior Brendan Beesley both saw significant playing time at tailback last season, but were shuffled down the depth chart by Martin-Nez’s emergence.

They’ve combined for just 46 carries, 182 yards and three touchdowns this season. Each player scored a touchdown against Pisgah. In 2007, Hosemann was third on the team with 511 rushing yards, while Beesley had 222 yards on the ground and eight catches for 168 yards. Together, they had 170 carries last season.

The Flashes also utilize senior quarterback Chris Lewis a good deal in the running game. Over the last two seasons, he has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards.

That experience has Smithhart confident there won’t be much of a dropoff.

“There shouldn’t be any pressure on them. They’ve played tailback and running back and done it well,” Smithhart said. “Brendan’s been running the ball really well lately.”

While St. Al tries to fill its hole at tailback, Porters Chapel is just hoping to get most of its players back in time to face Central Hinds. The Eagles can clinch the District 5-A championship with a win Friday night in Raymond, but may need help lifting the trophy with all of their various bumps and bruises.

Linemen Josh Hill (back) and Stewart Williams (knee) are among a half-dozen starters who have been limited or held out the last two weeks. Linebacker Joe Borrello hurt his shoulder in last week’s 42-18 win at Jackson, Ala., and leading tackler Austin Palmer was also nicked up.

PCA coach Randy Wright said he expected everyone except junior receiver Andrew Wall, who suffered a concussion in September and is out for the year, to play against Central Hinds (4-3, 2-0 District 5-A).

And even at half strength, PCA has still been better than just about everybody else. Despite the injuries, the Eagles have scored 40 or more points in each of their last five games and head into Friday’s contest with a perfect 8-0 record.

“We have a bunch of athletes that can play different positions. That’s why we’re still strong on offense,” PCA quarterback Clayton Holmes said. “We’ve got athletes we can move around and still win. They’ll step in and do their job. Nobody complains. We’ve got a lot of team leadership.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.