RAYMOND — For two years, beating Central Hinds and dethroning it as the premier boys soccer power in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools was St. Aloysius’ sole focus.

The Flashes did it last season, ending the Cougars’ 71-game winning streak en route to the Class AAA championship. On Thursday, they did it again and made an emphatic statement that there’s definitely a new king of the mountain.

Ryan Theriot scored three goals and assisted on another, and Kieran Theriot had a goal and two assists as St. Al crushed Central Hinds 7-0. The teams will play again next week in Vicksburg, and possibly again in the playoffs, but the Flashes left little doubt that the roles of hunter and hunted have flipped.

“We’ve only beaten them one time. We were trying to keep calm and keep our composure and show that we can beat them more than once, and that it wasn’t a fluke,” Ryan Theriot said. “It’s huge. That’s going to be buzzing through the MAIS. They know that they’ve got to watch St. Al now.”

Wyatt Teague and Connor Smith also scored goals as St. Al (9-1, 4-0 District 3-AAA) dominated from start to finish.

Three minutes into the game, Ryan Theriot sent a pass across the field to Teague who beat the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Theriot scored a goal of his own at the 10-minute mark and two more before halftime as the Flashes jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

Central Hinds also kicked a ball into its own net in the 21st minute, for the first of three goals in a six-minute span.

“I think we were just clicking. I think that was the best game we’ve played all year,” Kieran Theriot said. “Since the break ended, everybody’s starting to find their rhythm with their teammates. We’re just playing good together right now.”

St. Al only scored twice in the second half — Smith converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute and Kieran Theriot scored to make it 7-0 a minute later — but controlled the action even more than it did in the first half.

Fourteen of St. Al’s 19 shots came in the second half. Central Hinds had three shots in the game, none of which seriously challenged keepers Haden Luke and Chuck Beamish.
Last season, when the Flashes were chasing Central Hinds, the rallying cry was “71-1” in reference to the Cougars’ long winning streak that included five Class AAA titles. The Flashes even had that inscribed on their state championship rings.

On Thursday there was a different set of numbers that coach Scott Mathis kept repeating every time his players scored a goal — zero and zero, a reminder to keep working and not let the Cougars back in the game.

It was received loud and clear.

“We’ve had a history of back and forth games with them and couldn’t finish it,” Ryan Theriot said. “We’ve done everything else and we want to win the district championship. We have to put it all on the line, because if we stop playing our game then that’s when we get hurt. We just want to keep it up.”