Last week’s season opener confirmed a lot of what St. Aloysius coach Michael Fields already knew about his football team. The challenge now is what to do about it.

St. Al hung tough with Leake Academy before wearing down in the fourth quarter and losing 28-7. A lack of size on the line and depth were the two biggest contributing factors, and there aren’t any easy solutions to either issue for the Flashes as they move on to the home opener this Friday against Adams County Christian.

“It’s going to be a trying time because ACCS is pretty good and huge up front. They outweigh us by about 100 pounds per man,” Fields said. “We knew before the season we were going to have this problem. We can scheme around it a little bit, but once they see what you’re doing they make adjustments.”

It didn’t take long for Leake Academy to do that. The Flashes scored on their opening possession when Preston McGowan turned a short pass into a 65-yard touchdown, but they finished with less than 200 yards of total offense.

Fields said aggressive pass coverage, combined with struggles by the offensive line, combined to keep the offense in check.

“They came up and pressed our receivers, and we couldn’t throw quick passes. And then we couldn’t set up to throw any intermediate or deep passes,” Fields said.

Adams Christian didn’t make it through its season opener last week. The Rebels were leading Central Hinds 20-14 at halftime when the game was called because of lightning.

While the Flashes have some things to work through, Adams Christian might provide a more favorable matchup on some fronts. The Rebels, like St. Al, only have about 25 players on the varsity roster.

“They don’t have the depth that Leake had,” Fields said.

Fields, ever the optimist, also tried to look at what the Flashes did well. The defense held Leake in check until the game got away from them late — Leake scored 21 of its 28 points in the fourth quarter — and led for most of the first half.

“Looking at the positive, we led the game for a quarter and a half, and it was still 14-7 into the fourth quarter,” Fields said. “The other big thing is our linemen will be in better football condition this week. They’ll be able to last a little longer, and we’ll be able to sustain a few drives.”