St. Aloysius can accomplish several things by winning its last two games.

Finish over .500. Gain some confidence heading into the offseason. Maybe make the playoffs.

None of that, though, is as important as simply winning again.

The Flashes head into tonight’s game at West Lincoln on the heels of last week’s crushing loss to Mount Olive. The 40-13 defeat crippled the Flashes’ playoff hopes and left them playing for pride, even if there’s a 50-50 chance they’ll still make it.

“We’re not even talking playoffs. We’re just trying to play and whatever happens, happens. We need to win this one and get back on the right track,” St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart said. “I just want to win this one and then beat a good team next week.”

If St. Al does win both its games, it has a slim chance to make the playoffs. St. Al (5-4) must win both, and have Bogue Chitto (3-6) and Cathedral (2-6) lose one of their last two.

All three teams are 2-3 in Region 4-1A and are fighting for the last available playoff spot. St. Al would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with Cathedral, but lose it to Bogue Chitto. In the event of a three-way tie, Cathedral would advance based on a point differential tiebreaker.

Both Bogue Chitto and Cathedral have a game remaining against third-place Dexter, which doesn’t make St. Al’s small chance so small after all.

“We like Dexter right now,” Smithhart said with a laugh.

The Flashes, though, have a lot to correct if they’re to take care of their own business. Penalties and turnovers, especially at inopportune times, have been one of the team’s calling cards. In the loss to Mount Olive, three turnovers led to 20 points and St. Al was penalized seven times for 70 yards. In a region loss to Dexter in September, St. Al had 10 penalties for 75 yards.

The miscues have made for a frustrating season, but Smithhart said the team wasn’t going to stop trying to correct them just because the end is approaching.

“We always try to work on mistakes. It wouldn’t matter if we were 0-9. We’ve got to keep working,” Smithhart said.

The Flashes will have a chance to look a lot better tonight against a struggling West Lincoln (3-7, 0-5) squad. The Bears have lost five straight games and seven of eight since starting 2-0. They’ve scored just 21 points and been shut out twice in the last four games.

They do have talent, though. Tailback Calvin Kees has rushed for 776 yards and eight touchdowns on only 76 carries. Linebacker Garrett Rushing averages 10 tackles per game. Despite their recent struggles, Smithhart said he was wary of the Bears.

*

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com