St. Aloysius’ defense had one of its best games of the season. Its offense did not.

The Flashes got two fourth-down stops, an interception from Sadler Lambiotte, and held Columbia Academy to one touchdown until the waning minutes. They couldn’t get anything going on offense, however, and lost 14-0 on Friday.

“It was an absolute slugfest. The kids stood toe-to-toe, and unfortunately came up a little short,” St. Al head coach Bubba Nettles said.

The 14 points was the fewest St. Al (0-8) has allowed in any game this season. Cole Forenberry broke a 62-yard touchdown run for Columbia Academy (3-5) in the second quarter, and Dillian Rowley had a 23-yard TD run with less than three minutes to go to ice it.

Nettles said having linebacker Damien Reeves and linebacker Thompson Fortenberry back in the lineup after they missed the previous game with an injury was a big boost.

Senior Brady Harrell also had a sack.
“It was the most complete game we’ve played defensively all year,” Nettles said. “Having Damien and Thompson back helped. Every time they ran Thompson’s way he swallowed them up.”

Unfortunately, St. Al’s offense was not as efficient. Several dropped passes kept potentially big plays from developing and led to the Flashes’ third shutout loss in their last four games.

“There were a bunch of wasted opportunities on the offensive side,” Nettles said. “Everything that could’ve gone wrong when the play was going right, happened.”

St. Al’s losing streak was extended to a school-record 17 games, dating back to the 2022 season opener. The Flashes will try again to snap it next Friday night when they go to Yazoo City to play Manchester Academy.