From Jeff Byrd.

He’s called &#8220Red Beard” by his teammates but St. Aloysius senior running back Alex Halinski is sporting a clean-shaven look these days.

&#8220Coach (Jimmy) Salmon made me shave it,” Halinski said. &#8220Team rules.”

No matter, he’s still seen as the leader of the Flashes. Halinski is the top returning running back in Warren County after a junior season that saw him rush for 974 yards and 15 touchdowns.

&#8220Coach Salmon has a rule about no facial hair, but his nickname sticks, regardless. He’s still ‘Red Beard’ to us,” said fellow St. Al senior Chip Donald.

For center Chris Rabalais having a back the caliber of Halinski makes things easier for the St. Al linemen.

&#8220We have a really good relationship,” Rabalais said. &#8220Trap or Die” has been our motto and that’s Alex’s favorite play.

&#8220He’s a good running back and having someone like that makes our line look better.”

&#8220It’s called ‘40 Trap’,” Halinski said of his favorite play. It’s the play I scored the most on last year. We can run anything off that play.”

That’s good, because coach Jim Taylor and his staff changed the offense from a power-based Wing-T to a more versatile double-wing.

&#8220We’ve still got the same running plays that I got yards on last year,” Halinski said. &#8220It’s different for the quarterbacks and receivers. It has more motion in it.”

Taylor likes the presence Halinski brings to the Flashes in 2006.

&#8220We haven’t had to give a second thought about who’s going to carry the ball.” Taylor said. &#8220Alex can run the ball and he can run the ball hard.

&#8220He brings a lot of security to our offense. But because we have more skilled people back, we’ll be able to rest him more and keep him fresh. Having that depth will be big for him and us,” Taylor said.

Halinski will see time on defense at linebacker. It’s a big spot to fill with the loss of standout Noah Slater, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee who wound up leading the team with 169 tackles. Slater was named to the Mississippi All-Star team and is now a walk-on at Southern Miss.

&#8220Noah said he was like the smallest guy out of Southern’s linebackers but man, could he read an offense. I enjoyed playing with him last year,” Halinski said.

Another good season could put Halinski enjoying the success that has come Slater’s way.

&#8220I would like to continue playing but it will probably depend on where it is. Division I, yeah,” he said.

First on his mind is getting a win in the season opener against arch-rival Natchez Cathedral.

&#8220We’re trained to despise them like they despise us,” Halinski said. &#8220First off, we’ve got to beat Cathedral. We beat them my first year in ninth grade. Then we lost last year. It’s was a pretty tough one. It was a close game until the second half.”