St. Aloysius expanded its selection of trick plays to include a double reverse pass, a fake punt and even a fumble rooskie.

They worked to some degree, gaining a first down but no points. But then again, scoring points wasn’t necessarily the biggest thing in Friday’s season finale against mighty Tri-County Academy.

“We did all kinds of stuff. We had some fun with the play calling,” St. Al coach Bubba Nettles said. “We didn’t look at the scoreboard. We just tried to have fun with them one last time.”

For those who did look at the scoreboard, it was the latest in a long string of one-sided defeats for St. Al. Bryce Warriner threw four touchdown passes — two to Kamp Shepherd — as Tri-County rolled to a 47-0 victory.

Michael Broadwater scored on a fumble return, Thomas Murphy had a 47-yard touchdown run, and Keaton Bates a 20-yard TD run.

Tri-County (8-1, 2-1 MAIS District 3-4A) is headed on to the playoffs where it will most likely contend for the Class 4A championship.

St. Al (1-9, 0-4) finished its season with nine consecutive losses, seven of which were by 28 points or more. The program only won one game in a season for the first time since 1990.

Injuries sapped St. Al’s depth and experience all year, but Nettles said he was proud of his players for staggering to the finish line with their heads held high.

“I’m proud of this team and this coaching staff. There’s not a word in a thesaurus or a dictionary to describe the courage of these kids,” Nettles said. “If my son grows up to be half the man these seniors are, I’ll be one happy father.”