STARKVILLE — When the first goal went into the net, the St. Aloysius Flashes felt pretty good. The second one made them breathe a little easier, and by the third one they were on top of the world.

Ryan Theriot scored twice and set up Jack Dowe for a third goal as the Flashes routed Starkville Academy 3-0 Saturday night in the MAIS Class AAA boys’ soccer championship game.

It’s the first boys’ soccer state title in St. Al history, and the end of a long chase that spanned not only this season but decades of frustration. The Flashes finished this season with a 14-5 record that included a semifinal victory over four-time defending state champion Central Hinds.

This was also the first time the program had ever reached a state championship game.

“We worked hard all season and this is fitting. Central Hinds has won five years in a row or something like that and now we’re getting our chance. We showed everyone tonight,” Theriot said.

Saturday’s game started slow. Neither team had a shot on goal in the first 20 minutes, and it wasn’t until the late stages of the first half that St. Al started to generate some scoring chances.

In the 38th minute, it finally cashed in.

A foul at the top of the goal box set up a free kick for the Flashes. Theriot teed the ball up at the 18-yard and sent a low grounder through the defense and past keeper Zak Kelly for the icebreaker.

“Once we got that, we broke through,” Dowe said.

The goal gave the Flashes a boost of confidence that they carried over into the second half. After Starkville Academy (9-8) put some pressure on St. Al keeper Chuck Beamish, Dowe cleared the ball with a long boomball pass ahead to Theriot.

Theriot deked Kelly at the 18-yard line and shot into the open net for a 2-0 lead and a huge cushion with 31 minutes to go.

“The first half, I saw how this team was playing and how that team was playing, and I told them to just take it over,” St. Al coach Scott Mathis said. “That’s all they did.”

While the Flashes’ offensive stars were shining, the less-heralded members of the defense were doing their job to maintain the lead. Three times in the second half, defenders cleared loose balls off the goal line when Beamish was caught out of position.

In three playoff games the Flashes only allowed three goals — one of which deflected off their own player.

“They missed a couple of balls while they were getting the jitters out, but after that it was lights out,” Mathis said. “That’s how they’ve been playing these last five or six games. Everybody, collectively, has done a great job. I’m proud of them all.”

Dowe scored off an assist from Theriot in the 63rd minute to push St. Al’s lead to 3-0, and the countdown was on to a championship. The final minutes ticked away without a serious charge from Starkville and, when the final whistle blew, the Flashes stormed the field in celebration.

They hoisted the championship trophy high and celebrated with raucous students who made the three-hour trip for the game, hugged each other and wore smiles filled with awe at what they’d just accomplished.

“It was dominating, too. They had a couple of shots that almost went in, but 3-0 … the scoreboard doesn’t lie,” said Dowe, the team’s only senior. “My first year was Coach Scott’s first year. We’ve been through it all together. This means so much to me.”