For a while, the St. Aloysius Flashes were shaping up as an offensive juggernaut. They were running well, completing passes with ease, and scoring at will.

Lately, however, they’ve sputtered. The runs are starting to end in fumbles, the passes in interceptions, and the drives without points. After scoring 31 or more points in three straight games, the Flashes have managed just 34 total in their last three. More alarmingly, they’ve had six turnovers in their last two games.

St. Al is still finding ways to win — it improved to 5-2 with Friday’s 21-13 win over Pisgah and is in tied for third place in Region 3-1A at 5-2 — but the offensive struggles have raised some questions about a team with playoff aspirations.

“We’ve been coming out flat. That’s it,” said St. Al tailback Ryno Martin-Nez, who had 166 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Pisgah. “We can’t have those (turnovers) and win games like that. We can correct that. We just have to work harder during the week.”

Part of the reason for the reduced offensive output has been playing better defenses. St. Al’s run of high-scoring games came against region bottom feeders Dexter and Salem, as well as a Cathedral team that is under .500. The last three games, they played a solid Pelahatchie team and the third-ranked team in Class 1A in Puckett, as well as Pisgah.

On Friday, however, St. Al’s offense did a better job stopping itself than Pisgah’s defense did. After marching 53 yards in nine plays for the game’s first touchdown on its first possession, St. Al turned it over on its next three drives. One of those was an interception that was returned 77 yards for a touchdown by Pisgah’s Marcellus Grant.

St. Al put together another scoring drive before halftime, taking a 14-7 lead on Brendan Beesley’s 6-yard TD run, then fumbled on the opening possession of the second half. That turnover gave Pisgah the ball near midfield and set up a touchdown.

The next two possessions ended on downs and in a three-and-out, before the Flashes put together a game-sealing touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

“Tonight we stopped ourselves. We can’t fumble and we’ve got to do things to change that,” St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart said. “I want to keep having confidence in my guys on fourth and short.”

Although the offense has sputtered and the passing game has been almost nonexistent the last two weeks — quarterback Chris Lewis is just 3-for-11 passing for 91 yards, with no touchdowns and four interceptions in that span — the news isn’t all bad.

The Flashes ran for more than 200 yards as a team against Pisgah, including 158 in the first half. And their three scoring drives lasted nine, six and nine plays, showing they can move the football if they can hang on to it. Against Pisgah, St. Al had picked up a first down on all four drives that resulted in turnovers.

“Our running backs did good all night, and the offensive line did good. We had space. We’ve just got to hold on to it better,” Smithhart said. “Keep on keeping on. I think you keep running your stuff and keep working to get better. Good things are happening. We just have to finish them off.”