Football is a tough, physical game that most don’t play unscathed.

St. Aloysius senior defensive end Landon Middleton is no exception. He missed the first half of the season with a hairline fracture in his foot that he suffered during preseason practice, but he has gradually been integrated back into the lineup over the past two weeks.

“It’s hard to get back into the groove of things,” Middleton said after last week’s game against Greenville-St. Joseph. “Last week (Sept. 30 vs. Adams County Christian) was my first game back. I’m starting to pick it up slowly but surely. It’s good to just be back with my guys and finish up my senior year.”

Defensive coordinator Michael Fields said Middleton was still working on bouncing back and has been reintroduced to the game as they’ve needed him starting against Adams County Christian.
Middleton played every defensive snap in that game.

“He’s still a little gimpy, but we are hurting so much on depth he had to go,” Fields said after last week’s 55-21 loss to Greenville-St. Joe. “He’s not 100 percent, but he is still playing as hard as he can play. Hopefully by next week he’ll be even better.”

While his foot might not be back to full health, Middleton said he was ready to play again. He said his foot was feeling fine, but it hasn’t been easy to play such a physical, motion-based game on a sore foot.
“It feels good. I’m not 100 percent, but you’ve got to fight through some of it. Still have a little pain, but I’m able to just tape it up,” Middleton said.

An an All-District 3-AAA player last season, Middleton’s return has meant a lot to the team in terms of enhancing talent and depth — a component the Flashes desperately need. Several times this season, they’ve worn down in the second half and let leads get away.

While injuries might have hurt the team’s depth, Middleton said the Flashes are bouncing back.
“I think we have one guy out with a shoulder injury right now. He should be back soon,” Middleton said. “Overall we’re pretty healthy as a team.”

Fields said the Flashes have a few things to work on going into this Friday’s District 3-AAA game at home against Manchester Academy. It’s the first of three consecutive district games to end the season for the Flashes (0-7, 0-1 District 3-AAA), and they need to win all three to have any chance at earning a playoff berth for the third year in a row. St. Al is likely out of the wild card picture in MAIS Class AAA, but can still win the district championship by running the table in its last three games.

St. Al has allowed 50 points or more three times this season, including each of the last two weeks. In its last three games, St. Al has given up 138 points. It has scored 148 of its own all season.

“We’ve just got to pay attention to detail and be a little bit more cohesive as a unit,” Fields said. “We’ve had a pretty competitive schedule, and I hope it will all pay off starting (this) week.”

The players are confident in their abilities and are planning to find success through the struggle.

“We’re looking forward to going to district. We have high hopes. We think we can come out of district 3-1. We’re looking forward to it,” Middleton said.

Friday’s area games

All games start at 7 p.m.

Madison Central at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)

Vicksburg at Lanier (Radio: 1490 AM/107.7 FM)

Manchester Academy at St. Aloysius (Radio: 101.3 FM)

Porters Chapel at Wilkinson Christian (Radio: 104.5 FM)

Tallulah Academy at Sharkey-Issaquena

Park Place at Rebul Academy

Riverfield at Central Hinds

Wesson at Port Gibson

Madison Parish at Wossman

Online: For live scoring updates on all of Warren County’s high school football games on Friday night, visit twitter.com/vixpostsports and facebook.com/thevicksburgpost