St. Al runs over W. Lincoln

Published 5:00 am Monday, October 29, 2007

The host West Lincoln Bears couldn’t stop the Vicksburg St.Aloysius Flashes Friday night at Perry Miller Field. Powered byquarterback Chris Lewis’ 12 rushes for 139 yards and threetouchdowns, St. Al marched to a 56-38 Region 4-1A victory overwinless West Lincoln. Lewis also completed 4 of 5 passes for 61yards and one touchdown.

With the win, the Flashes improved to 4-4 in the region and 4-5overall. The Bears fell to 0-8 on the season and 0-7 in theregion.

“We did something tonight that we have not done since our firstgame,” said West Lincoln head coach Brooks Burns. “We were able toplay consistent from from the start to the finish. Our firstfumble, when the score was 21-14, was the turning point of thegame.

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“We did not make the plays on defense,” continued Burns. “Theirkickoff return in the fourth quarter really hurt us. But ourenthusiasm and effort was very good. We played a physical game. Butwe must do a better job stopping folks on defense.”

The leading rusher for West Lincoln was quarterback Jeremy Byrdwith 6 carries for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“Offensively, we were able to move the ball pretty well,” statedSt. Al head coach Jim Taylor. “But our defense had a tough timeagainst West Lincoln. It was good to get the victory in thishigh-scoring game. Our kids played a good game. But right now, weare wondering about our player, Chip Donald, who got hurt.”

McDonald, who rushed 5 times for 70 yards, sustained an injuryat the 1:37 mark in the second quarter, The game was delayed 40minutes until McDonald was put in a ambulance and taken to thehospital.

West Lincoln scored first on St. Al at the 7:53 mark in thefirst quarter. Byrd scored on a 62-yard run for the touchdown. ThePAT kick failed as the Bears led 6-0.

St. Al scored on a 34 and a 2-yard run by Lewis and a pair ofextra point kicks by Richard Cowart to give the Flashes a 14-6 leadwith 4:18 left in the first quarter. Cowart went on the kick 6 morePATs and go 8-for-8 on the night.

Lewis connected with Clayton Holmes for a 15-yard touchdownstrike and a 21-6 lead at the 11:53 mark in the second quarter.

West Lincoln answered with a 10-yard burst by Byrd and a 2-pointconversion run by Jamie Rushing to cut the deficit to 21-14 with7:07 left in the first half.

St. Al came back with a 14-yard run by Holmes for another FlashTD to push its lead to 28-18 with 3:02 remaining in the firsthalf.

With 29 seconds left, Lewis scored a 3-yard touchdown run togive the visitors a 35-14 lead going into the dressing room at thehalf.

St. Al started the third quarter with possession and scored atthe 11:00 mark on a 8-yard burst by Juston Hoseman for a 42-14lead.

The Bears came back to score on a 20-yard run by Cardell Posterwith 6:58 showing in the third quarter. Rushing scored the 2-pointconversion to cut the deficit to 42-22.

With 5:23 on the clock, Hoseman scored his second TD on a 6-yardrun and pushed the Flashes lead to 49-22 over the Bears.

In the fourth quarter, Rushing picked up a 4-yard touchdown andPorter ran the 2-point conversion to trim the St. Al lead to 49-30with 11:54 left in the final frame.

On the following kickoff,the Flashes recorded their final TD ofthe game on Brendon Beesley’s 75-yard kickoff return to give them a56-30 lead.

The Bears scored the last TD of the game with 4:12 remaining.Kolby Burris broke loose for a 24-yard run and followed with a2-point conversion to trim the Flashes lead to 56-38.

Contributing on the Bear offensive running game was Rushing with19 carries for 77 yards. Porter followed with 59 yards on 18carries. Burris rushed twice for 27 yards.

Defensively, Burris and Rushing led WestLincoln with 9 tackles and 6 solos apiece. Making 6 stops and 2solos was Cole Wallace. Austin Davis finished with 5 tackles.

West Lincoln visits Bogue Chitto and St. Al entertains Mt. Olivein region action this Friday. The games begin at 7 p.m.