There will be no playoffs this season for St. Aloysius.

Stringer jumped up 14-0 before the St. Aloysius fans could even get their seats warm on a chilly evening and the Red Devils clinched the final playoff berth in Region 4-1A with 37-13 win on Friday.

“Against the better teams, we can’t get out of the gate that slowly,” St. Al coach B.J. Smithart said. “They got some big plays at the beginning. By the time we figured out we could play with them, they were up three touchdowns.”

St. Aloysius (7-4, 6-4) was also victimized by a onsides kick on the opening kickoff of the second half that stifled any hopes of a comeback.

“That second-half kickoff was a scud,” Smithhart said. “We were hoping to get the ball back and it really took the wind out of us. That kicker really smoked it at a front-line guy and it’s just one of those things.”

Things didn’t look positive early for St. Al.

The Flashes fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter as the Red Devils (7-3, 7-3) scored on their first three drives.

Quarterback Andrew Pierce took advantage of a 68-yard run by tailback Ervin Gavin two plays later with a 4-yard keeper to put the Devils on top.

Following St. Al three-and-out, Pierce capped another short drive with a 30-yard keeper on the option to increase the lead to 14-0 after he booted the extra point.

After the Devil defense forced a second three-and-out, Stringer went back to the running game in an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by a Derek Bynum 10-yard run up the middle.

Smithhart knew coming into the contest that dealing with Stringer’s bulky front would be a challenge.

“They are really big across the front,” Smithhart said. “They did a great job at staying with their blocks. We know that to take the next step, we’ve got to get into that weight room.”

But the second quarter belonged to St. Al.

Despite falling short on their first drive of the quarter, senior quarterback Chris Lewis capped a short drive with a 32-yard scoring strike to Brendan Beesley out of the backfield to cut the deficit to 21-7 after the Adam Thornton PAT.

The St. Al defense managed to finally contain the potent Stringer running attack and the Flashes went into the break down only two scores.

Then the onsides kick flipped the momentum and field position for Stringer. The Flashes stopped the Devils after a fumble, but the ensuing St. Al drive ended on fourth down at the Flashes’ 19.

Stringer took advantage, as Pierce took the keeper 20 yards to paydirt to put the Devils up 28-0 with 2:50 left in the third.

The Flashes got in gear offensively and marched down the field in the waning moments of the third. Lewis cut the deficit to two scores with a 1-yard plunge with 11:41 left in the fourth.

But the Devils would salt away the game with an 11-play, 51-yard drive that consumed much of the fourth. Pierce drilled an 18-yard field goal to put Stringer up 31-13 with just 4:51 remaining.

St. Al went for a little bit of trickery, as Regan Nosser, split out wide, caught a pass from Lewis and lobbed it downfield, where Pierce picked off the errant pass.

Gavin scored five plays later from 8 yards out to cap the scoring for Stringer. He finished with a game-high 222 yards on 26 carries.

“We’ve got a strong bunch and they played good. They knew it was all on the line tonight,” Stringer coach Marlon Brannan said. “We got a few breaks early. I know it’s a cliche, but St. Al is a heck of a team.”

Lewis completed 12-of-21 passes for 125 yards and one score and rushed 10 times for 51 yards and another TD to lead the Flash offense.

Despite being part of a senior class that turned a 4-7 record last season into a 7-4 one, there was little consolation for Lewis and the other St. Al seniors, whose final season ended short of the postseason.

“It’s hard for it to end this way,” Lewis said. “In the first  half, they really jumped on us good. We came back in the second half, but that onsides kick really caught us off guard.”

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.