DeMichael Harris started the game Friday. He also finished it.

The junior took a handoff from a fake jet sweep and dashed 67 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and, as the clock struck 10 p.m., it was Harris whose body landed with a thud in the opposite end zone as he came away with the game-sealing interception. Behind the hybrid running back/defensive back’s jaw-dropping performance, St. Aloysius powered past Shaw 35-24 to take full control of the Region 2-1A championship race.

“We knew what kind of game this was going to be. That football team’s won district championships, played for state championships. Some of the kids still on that team have done that,” St. Al coach BJ Smithhart said. “They are a good football team. A good, hard-nosed football team and our boys knew they were going to have to play four quarters. Everybody contributed and I’m proud of them.”

Harris literally did it all for the Flashes. He ended the night with 277 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and also started at cornerback, where he locked down his side of the field and ended the game with a pick. It seemed like the only thing he didn’t do was take tickets and sell hot dogs at halftime.

“What people don’t realize tonight, unless you’ve really been following us, is DeMichael probably didn’t have 10 snaps off the field because he had to play cornerback too,” Smithhart said. “He was covering some fast guys running the ball. Bless his heart, he was taking some pretty big shots and just kept on, kept on, kept on.”

The Flashes jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Harris’ long run, but Shaw was able to answer right back with a touchdown before failing on the two-point conversion. It was as close as the Hawks got.

Connor Smith tucked the ball and scampered for a 19-yard TD to extend the lead to 14-6, and St. Al built a 28-6 cushion before Shaw made a late-game comeback.

St. Al (8-1, 6-0) clinched a playoff berth with the win and now controls its own destiny in its quest for the Region 2-1A title.

“It’s a great one to go into a bye week because there’s going to be some sore bodies,” Smithhart said. “I’m proud of them, and hopefully we can get our legs back under us and finish the regular season strong.”