When his leading rusher went down with an injury, St. Aloysius coach B.J. Smithhart pondered his options.

Turns out, the answer was right under his nose all along. Or, to be more accurate, right under center.

Chris Lewis, the Flashes’ starting quarterback for 2 1/2 seasons, played his first game at tailback Friday against Madison-St. Joe. He responded with a 22-carry, 161-yard performance and scored three touchdowns, including two in overtime as St. Al won 24-17 in double overtime.

His 22 carries were nearly a third of his total of 59 entering the game.

“He just got better every snap,” Smithhart said. “He just wants to do whatever it takes to win.”

The switch came after junior Ryno Martin-Nez broke his thumb the previous week against Pisgah. Martin-Nez was leading the team in rushing, with 596 yards, and receiving with 13 catches for 211 yards.

Lewis was second on the team in rushing before the Madison-St. Joe game and led the team last season. Smithhart said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior was eager to move from quarterback to tailback.

“I was going to try to talk to him and work up to it. But he told me to give him the ball. He wanted to run it. I didn’t have to do a whole lot of convincing,” Smithhart said. “It wasn’t a demotion by any means.”

It did result in a promotion, however, for Regan Nosser. The junior has served as Lewis’ backup at quarterback for the last 1 1/2 seasons and took over as the starter when Lewis moved to tailback. Nosser had also played receiver and caught 10 passes this season for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Nosser was effective enough at quarterback, though, that Smithhart said he’ll likely stay there and Lewis will stay at tailback when St. Al (6-2, 5-2) returns to region play this Friday at home against West Lincoln.

“The coaches all felt we could do that. We knew he could handle it,” Smithhart said. “He’ll get better each game, and he threw some pretty passes.”

While Lewis is likely to become the featured tailback from here on, Smithhart said he likes to use a three-man rotation and would give plenty of carries to senior Justin Hosemann and junior Brendan Beesley.

Smithhart had high praise for Hosemann, a fullback who rushed for more than 500 yards last season. He’s gained a little over 100 yards this year, as the offense has switched from a Wing-T with multiple options to a more tradition I-formation attack.

In addition to being the team’s second-leading tackler on defense, Hosemann has had game-clinching interceptions late in the fourth quarter against Pelahatchie and on the final play of the second overtime against Madison-St. Joe.

“He’s Mr. Big Play over there on the defense. He always seems to be at the ball,” Smithhart said. “He’s just a football player. … He’s going to do what it takes. He’s playing fullback and middle linebacker and might miss 10 snaps a game.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.