Holding an eight-point lead at halftime Friday night, St. Aloysius coach BJ Smithhart started his speech by reminding his team they were in exactly the same position they were a year ago.

A short time later, they were headed to a place none of them have ever been — a state championship game.

The Flashes demolished Coffeeville 35-6 Friday night at Balzli Field to win the Class 1A North State championship. They advanced to the state championship game for the first time since 1981 — three years before the current version of the MHSAA playoff system came into existence — and erased the bad taste of last year’s North State final, when they blew a halftime lead and lost at home to Smithville.

“I don’t think I can put it into words. I don’t think it’s hit us yet. But it’s amazing. It’s awesome,” said St. Al quarterback Connor Smith, a three-year starter. “I’ve been here four years. Two years of a lot of pain. It’s all paid off. It’s worth it, for sure.”

Making the night even better, St. Al learned shortly after celebrating its win that it’ll face archrival Cathedral for the state title. Cathedral beat Nanih Waiya 28-19 Friday night for the South State championship.

St. Al (13-1) and Cathedral (13-1), both of which are seeking their first championship, will square off Friday morning at 11 at Mississippi State’s Davis-Wade Stadium. It’ll be their second meeting of the season. Cathedral won the first, 42-31, in the season opener on Aug. 22.

St. Al hasn’t lost since then. Having to not only go through their archrival, but also the team that handed them their only loss of the season, was welcome news for the Flashes.

“It’s going to be awesome. After the first game, we all just said if we get to the last game hopefully we’ll face them. And now here they are,” said St. Al lineman Drake Dorbeck, who recovered three fumbles against Coffeeville.

Coffeeville reached the semifinal round with defense, shutting out nine of its first 13 opponents while ascending to the top of The Associated Press’ Class 1A rankings.

It took St. Al one play to shatter that aura of invincibility.

After the defense forced a fumble on Coffeeville’s opening possession, DeMichael Harris ran straight up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

It was the start of a recurring theme for Harris and the Flashes. The defense forced seven fumbles — it recovered five — and six turnovers total, and the offense turned that into 21 points.

Harris finished with 209 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. His totals gave him a 2,058 yards and 24 touchdowns for the season, both school records. He broke the yardage record held by Mike Ray since 1978, and the touchdown record set by Stacy Williams in 1995.

Harris is also just the fifth Warren County player since 1970 to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season.

“It was an open hole. The offensive line did a great job, and I just had to beat them to the end zone,” Harris said. “The first (touchdown) set the tone for the game. We were going to run the ball.”

Coffeeville’s inability to hang onto the football proved to be a fatal flaw. It lost three fumbles in the first half, including twice in a span of three plays to set up Harris’ second touchdown. In the second half, the mistakes led to a meltdown that sank any chances the Pirates (12-2) had of making a comeback.

St. Al scored twice in a span of 45 seconds in the third quarter. Harris ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run, then added a 2-yarder after the Flashes’ Donald Woodson recovered a pooch kick at the Coffeeville 29.

Javone Dudley fumbled three plays later to give St. Al the ball again, and Smith capped a 10-play, 30-yard drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. That score put St. Al ahead 35-6 with 41 seconds left in the third quarter and was the final nail in Coffeeville’s coffin.

The officials switched to a running clock midway through the fourth quarter. A muffed punt with two minutes left was Coffeeville’s sixth turnover, and allowed St. Al to run out the clock. In the final seconds, officials waited to spot the ball until less than 25 seconds remained to ensure the Flashes didn’t have to run another play. It was akin to a boxing referee stopping a one-sided fight.

“You know when you’re kneeling it’s got to be something good. That just felt great. I’m just so happy,” Smith said.

St. Aloysius 35, Coffeeville 6

Records: St. Al (13-1); Coffeeville (12-2)

Up next: St. Al vs. Cathedral, Friday at 11 a.m. at Starkville (Misissippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium) in the Class 1A championship game

Skinny: Flashes dominate No. 1 Coffeeville to reach first state title game since 1981.