Coach BJ Smithhart said his St. Aloysius team got off to a little bit of a sluggish start Friday on the road against Ray Brooks. Luckily, a slow start for the Flashes means only 21 first-half points. St. Al continued to utilize its powerful rushing attack to roll over Ray Brooks 28-8 and preserve its undefeated region record.

The Flashes (7-1, 5-0 Region 2-1A) struck first on a 5-yard DeMichael Harris run and followed it up in the second quarter with 14 straight points. Connor Smith tossed a 20-yard strike to Brandon Teller to put St. Al up 14-0, and Harris — who is averaging 115.8 rushing yards per game — scampered five yards for his second touchdown of the game.

“He played really hard. I was proud of the offensive line too,” Smithhart said. “They brought a lot of guys up. (Ray Brooks) was basically bringing the house. They tried to put pressure on us. That’s their M.O. on defense. The line did a great job of opening holes and DeMichael ran really hard.”

The Tigers finally reached the end zone in the fourth quarter and converted on the two-point conversion attempt to make it a 21-8 game, but the Flashes put the contest to rest with a 30-yard touchdown run by Smith to seal the win.

“That team was a lot better than their record shows. They fought really hard,” Smithhart said. “That coaching staff has them going in the right direction. I thought we were a little flat and whatnot but we grinded one out and played well.”

SIA 48, Strider 6

Sharkey-Issaquena Academy used an explosive first quarter to roll over Strider. Quarterback Jack Martin threw for 97 yards and three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the game as SIA put up 31 first-quarter points in the win. Martin ended the day 4-of-5 for 130 yards and three scores.

Tucker Clinkscale led the Confederates on the ground with 54 yards and a touchdown to average 13.5 yards per carry. SIA held Strider to 57 total yards.