November 9, 2006.

Where were you when President John F. Kennedy was assasinated?.

The 1963 St. Aloysius football team was on a school bus destined for the Gulf Coast. The Flashes, winners of the Mississippi Catholic Conference’s North Division, were set to battle Notre Dame of Biloxi with the Catholic title on the line.

Notre Dame, the precursor to Mercy Cross, had easily won the South Divison to set up a matchup of the two best.

The Flashes featured star player Eddie Ray and were the reigning Catholic champions. St. Aloysius defeated St. Stanislaus in the inaugural MCC championship game in 1962 and was poised to repeat as Catholic champions.

Then an assassin’s bullet killed Kennedy, the first and only Catholic president in United States history. The team was made aware of the assassination somewhere around Hattiesburg. Not knowing whether the game that night would be played as scheduled, the team continued toward the Gulf Coast.

Upon arriving, the Flashes were told the game would be canceled and no champion crowned on that Friday night. Instead, the team watched John Wayne star in &#8220McClintock!” at a Coast theater, said Ed Canizaro, a member of that year’s team.

As part of the original itinerary, the Flashes were set for a deep sea fishing trip on Saturday, but rain dampened the outing, Canizaro said.

It was the last time the Flashes have played a playoff football game on the Gulf Coast.

Until now.

Nearly 43 years later, St. Al will venture to Mercy Cross to battle the Crusaders in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs. It will mark the first time the Flashes have reached the postseason since 2002, when they lost 14-0 to eventual state champion Puckett.

The Flashes will have a battle Friday night taking on one of the best teams in Class 1A. The Crusaders have lost only one game, to No. 3 Mount Olive, and average more than 42 points per game.

St. Al will counter with bruising fullback Alex Halinski and an 8-3 record. The Flashes’ three losses have all come against ranked teams.

There will also be no championship at stake in this game. The Mississippi Catholic Conference has long been disbanded. The current playoff format took effect in 1984.

A win would send the Flashes to a likely home game on Nov. 17, but nothing is guaranteed in this world.

The 1963 Flashes had eyes on a championship, too.

They just didn’t get a chance to win it.