All decked out with purple and gold banners, Balzli Field will host a celebration of 150 years of Catholic education in Vicksburg when athletic alumni from the school’s past return to watch St. Aloysius battle West Lincoln tonight.

St. Al senior quarterback Ford Biedenharn knows the game with the Bears is like no other in recent St. Aloyisus history.

“It’s a big game because so many people will be coming back,” Biedenharn said. “We want to show them a good time. We need to because we had an embarrassing game last week.”

The Flashes (3-6, 1-4 Region 4-1A) saw their playoff hopes extinguished with a 46-0 loss at Mount Olive. A win tonight over the winless Bears (0-9, 0-5) would go a long way to put that game behind them.

“We had one of those games, I can’t really say what happened,” Biedenharn said.

St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart could.

“Some early turnovers definitely hurt,” Smithhart said. “The first was a turnover on downs and then we had a fumble. We also didn’t play with a lot of aggressiveness like we did against Cathedral.”

The 13-8 loss to region leader Cathedral two weeks ago ranks as the team’s top performance of the year. The Flashes were able to hurt the Green Wave with a spread option attack led by Biedenharn, who rushed for 118 yards. Running back Carlton Campbell rushed for 91 yards. Biedenharn says the Bears will see more of the same and he likes it that way.

“I like it a lot,” Biedenharn said. “It’s basically zone read plays. I can either keep it or hand it off.”

Smithhart said he just wants his team to enjoy some success in front of what will be the largest crowd they have ever played before. Extra bleachers were brought in to handle the estimated 700 additional fans and alumni.

“We’re hoping for a big crowd,” Smithhart said. “It will be good for the school and good for the kids. I hope we can play well. This is a big deal for the school.”

Despite their winless record, the Bears will not be a pushover. Sophomore Deon Moore has rushed for 879 yards and nine touchdowns.