With 35 seconds left in the game Friday, the St. Aloysius Flashes watched their first win of the season slip through their fingers.

Thomastown’s Fred Nettles completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to LeMarcus Clayton on fourth down as the Bulldogs escaped with a 12-7 win.

After Thomastown’s touchdown, the Flashes made one last drive for the win. With less than 30 seconds to play, quarterback Chris Baer connected with Chip Donald on a 45-yard pass. The Flashes got to the Thomastown 31 yard line, but Baer’s desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as the buzzer sounded.

“It was the same old story,” said St. Aloysius coach Jim Taylor, whose team fell to 0-3 on the season. “We played better but we had turnovers at inopportune times and gave up big plays.”

St. Al outgained Thomastown in total yards by almost 100, and racked up 185 yards on the ground. Alex Halinski led the Flashes with 80 yards rushing.

St. Aloysius scored first on a 2-yard touchdown run by Halinski for a 7-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.

After a 65-yard kick return to the St. Al 33 following the Flashes’ touchdown, the Bulldogs took advantage of a pass interference call on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

Five plays after the penalty, the Bulldogs scored on a 4-yard run to pull to within a point at 7-6. The two-point conversion failed, keeping St. Al in the lead.

The Flashes were hampered by penalties all night, getting flagged 10 times for 95 yards. Thomastown was penalized only 45 yards.

Thomastown drove deep into St. Al territory before halftime when Chip Donald recovered a fumble at the Flashes’ 25-yard line to keep the score 7-6 at the break.

In the fourth quarter, St. Al drove deep into Thomastown territory and had a first-and-goal with an opportunity to put the game away. John Buckman, though, fumbled and Thomastown returned the miscue to their own 39-yard line.

St. Al forced a punt, then turned the ball over again and watched as Thomastown drove the field for the game-winning score.

Nettles completed 12-of-23 passes for 120 yards, including the game winner, to pace the Bulldogs.