It was a long night for St. Aloysius in its district opener against defending MAIS Class 4A champion Tri-County Academy.

The Flashes were shut out 39-0 and dropped to 0-4 on the season, but first-year head coach Walker Mosby said the rough start won’t derail his team from the track he wants them on.

“You guys played hard in the second half on defense. You did everything we asked you to do,” he told his team after the loss. “We’re going to keep working, and this kind of thing happens to playoff teams. And I still believe we’ll be in the playoffs.”

The Flashes found themselves in a hole early in the game, falling behind 6-0 with just over nine minutes to play in the first quarter. They held Tri-County at bay, however, until later in the period when running back Bryce Brooks found the end zone on the ground to put the Rebels up 12-0.

St. Al gave Tri-County good field position on its ensuing drive, missing the snap on a punt attempt and covering the ball at its own 25 yard-line. The Rebels added another rushing touchdown from three yards out to go up 18-0.

A drive later, Hayden Hunt scored on a 27-yard run and the two-point conversion gave Tri-County a 26-0 lead.

The Rebels found the end zone on the ground one more time, but a blocked kick by the Flashes sent the point-after attempt sailing short.

Late in the second quarter, St. Al faced a new hurdle as quarterback Carson Smith left the game with an apparent ankle injury. Backup Sadler Lambiotte gave the Flashes some life through the air, finding Beau Brogdon for a first down in Rebels territory before the drive was cut short by a pick-six by Cooper Johnson that put Tri-County up 39-0.

Johnson also caught a touchdown pass for Tri-County’s first score.

“We’ve got to move on,” Mosby said. “We’ve got to control the things we can control. Our discipline, toughness, attitude after a loss like this. This is no fun. It’s my fault. I’ve got to do a better job of this not happening.”

But Mosby said the second-half effort by his defense shows the grit of the team.

“These guys played hard. They played even harder in the second half when I asked them to. They’re just phenomenal kids. They’re great,” he said.

Offensively, Mosby said losing Smith was a blow, but praised Lambiotte for stepping in while also starting on defense.

“For Sadler Lambiotte tonight, I was very pleased with him,” Mosby said. “He doesn’t get the same amount of reps as the starter and he has to play free safety for us as well. And that’s tough for an 11th-grader. But, he stuck in there and he played his guts out. I was super proud of him.”

Mosby said his team will learn from the loss, but has no time to dwell on a setback with Clinton Christian looming next week.

“These guys are mentally tough. They’re positive kids and they’re going to move on from this. We’re going to come out Monday with a new mindset and get ready for Clinton Christian,” he said. “This was our first district game and Clinton Christian is a district game as well. The season’s not over and we can still make the playoffs. These guys have a fire about them.”