Rebuilding is a dirty word to coaches.

It sounds like an excuse, a ready-made catch-all when mental breakdowns and turnovers result in defeat because of too much youth in the two-deep.

But that’s exactly the situation for St. Aloyius this season. Freshmen have had to step into plenty of big roles and the results have been exactly what can be expected with 12 freshmen on the roster.

The Flashes (3-4) have been in some tight games, winning some and losing others. Only one result, the 53-6 loss at Bogue Chitto, was one St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart said his team would rather have back.

Friday, his troops gained a huge morale booster in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Flashes scored a late touchdown off Ford Bidenharn’s first TD pass of the season and kept Salem off the board on a 2-point conversion to earn a 7-6 victory.

“They rose up and made a play when it mattered,” Smithhart said. “We’re starting to find who our leaders are.”

It was youngsters who made the big plays. Sophomore linebacker Elliott Bexley, along with senior Shelton Headley, stopped the 2-point conversion cold. Freshman Michael Foley recovered the onsides kick.

This week, the youngsters will have to take a bigger step in the maturation process, as archrival Cathedral pays a visit. Cathedral is ranked second in the AP Class 1A prep football poll and has been piling points on the board by the bushel.

The good news for the Flashes is that a playoff berth is still up for grabs, something that has eluded them the past few years. Winning out against a tough two-game stretch of Cathedral and Mount Olive would go a long way toward that goal.

An analogue for the football team would be the two-time defending Class 1A state champion baseball team. Many of the regulars on those title teams started as eighth-graders and freshmen and took some lumps along the way to building something special.

In their final two years at the school, it was the Flashes who gave, not absorbed, punishment.

By the time this group gets to their final two years, they will have played plenty of snaps, something that will serve the program well in the years ahead.

That experience is building a bridge between a good team in the present and the possibility of great teams in the not-so-distant future.

“You can lift all the weights you want to,” Smithhart said. “But there’s no substitute for experience. All of these guys who’ve taken snaps for this team are going to be invaluable.”

Smithhart has been helping out with a strong junior high group as well, preparing youngsters for the day when they’re needed on varsity, which won’t be too far away at the rate the Flashes have played freshmen.

“We’re building for the future, but we like the present a lot, too,” Smithhart said.

A win against Cathedral on Friday night would hasten the process.