In two quarters of football last week, St. Aloysius’ offense went from first to fifth gear.

The Flashes scored 21 points in the second half of a 35-28 loss to Pisgah after sputtering for a game and a half. The running game came alive, the passing game clicked, and most importantly there were no turnovers.

Now they’ll try to keep that momentum and productivity going when they face Madison-St. Joseph in an annual Catholic school rivalry game Friday night in Madison.

“I think the big thing was the offense. It looked to be in sync. We’ve just got to get better all around,” St. Al coach BJ Smithhart said. “You always hear that’s where the most improvement is, from the first game to the second. That might have been what happened.”

The offensive improvement was definitely a highlight for the Flashes, even in defeat. They’d committed six turnovers and only scored one offensive touchdown in an 18-14 loss to Cathedral in the season opener played in wet, muddy conditions. At halftime against Pisgah, they led 7-6.

The Flashes got a mix of big plays — Connor Bottin scored on a 50-yard run — and sustained drives in the second half, however, to get rolling. Smithhart said he didn’t think there was a single play that kicked the offense into gear, but rather the flow of the game lent itself to it. St. Al and Pisgah traded touchdowns throughout the second half until Pisgah went ahead for good with about a minute left.

“I thought we did a good job. We had a couple of chances in the second half to go ahead, and that’s when we sputtered. We’ve got to get better on that,” Smithhart said. “I think they were just competing. I don’t know if anything clicked. I think they were just competing hard.”

Up next for the Flashes is a Madison-St. Joe team that has won five of its last six meetings with St. Al — the lone interruption in the streak was in 2014 — and has started this season with impressive wins over Salem and Cathedral.

The Bruins have already rushed for more than 500 yards as a team. Most of it has come from senior Nick Louvier, who has 398 yards and five touchdowns. The defense has forced seven turnovers as well.

“They’re just solid all around,” Smithhart said. “On special teams, they can get something on you if you’re not paying attention. Offensively, they have a lot of weapons and can spread it around. On defense, they send people from a lot of different directions.”

This will be the 54th meeting between the schools in a series that began in 1952. They’ve played each year since 2007, when a six-year hiatus in the series ended.

They’ll play for Catholic school bragging rights as well as the Strauss-Stallings Trophy, which goes home with the winner each year.

“We’d like to get that trophy back,” Smithhart said.

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES

All games start at 7 p.m.

Warren Central at Vicksburg (Radio: 105.5 FM and 1490 AM)

St. Al at Madison-St. Joe (Radio: 101.3 FM)

PCA at Central Hinds (Radio: 104.5 FM)

Tallulah Aca. at Unity Christian

Humphreys Academy at Rebul Academy

Port Gibson at Terry

General Trass at Madison Parish

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