A year ago Saturday, St. Aloysius ventured to Mound Bayou to face John F. Kennedy.
It was a debacle.
The Flashes gave up seven touchdowns and more than 350 yards through the air in a humiliating 50-13 loss.
On Friday night, when Kennedy comes to Vicksburg, the Flashes will be hungry for revenge — or, they might line up to thank the Hornets and shake their hand.
St. Al has won 11 of 14 games since that loss. The hot streak includes a trip to last year’s Class 1A semifinals and a 5-1 start this season that has the team on the short list of state championship contenders.
None of it, coach BJ Smithhart mused, would have been possible without the beating the Flashes took last October.
“It’s funny, because that’s the game that got us started last year. We got embarrassed and the kids started working hard, and we got on a roll,” Smithhart said. “It’s not so much a revenge game as it is a game between two good teams.”
With revenge removed from the equation, St. Al can focus on bigger goals. A victory Friday would ensure a winning season and be an important step toward the Region 2-1A championship.
Kennedy is considered a playoff contender in the region, despite a 2-4 record. Its four non-region games were all against schools in larger classifications, including Class 5A Lewisburg and Class 3A East Side.
Kennedy has split its first two region games, beating Ray Brooks and losing to Shaw.
Getting a win over Kennedy would help St. Al keep pace with the other frontrunners in the region and give it a key head-to-head tiebreaker.
“That’s another playoff-caliber team. Their record isn’t real indicative of how good they are. They’ve played some good teams,” Smithhart said. “This would be really big. We’re right at that point where we’re almost in, but we can also get left out if we don’t keep winning.”
If St. Al keeps scoring points at the rate it’s been, it might never lose again.
The Flashes (5-1, 3-0 Region 2-1A) have scored at least 31 points in every game this season, and 40 or more in each of the last three.
St. Al has gotten contributions from nearly every member of the offense.
Quarterback Connor Smith has thrown five touchdowns and only one interception in 79 attempts so far this season. He and running back DeMichael Harris also have more than 500 rushing yards apiece.
Seven different players have scored a rushing touchdown.
“We’re mixing it up really good, and we’re spreading it around passing the ball. We’re also running it really, really effectively,” Smith said. “DeMichael and all of our other backs are playing really great. We’re doing a good job balancing pass and run, and that’s what got us going.”
The Flashes have also gotten help from some unlikely sources, like receiver Brandon Harrell.
The senior had just four catches in St. Al’s first five games, but moved into a larger role after leading receiver Lane Hynum broke his collarbone two weeks ago against Durant.
Harrell responded by catching three passes for 55 yards in last week’s 40-30 win over Broad Street. All of them were in key spots, including one on third down that kept a scoring drive alive in the fourth quarter.
“(Harrell) played great,” Smith said. “He had a couple of catches on third down situations when we needed it. It was really clutch. We’re definitely going to need him to keep playing like that.”