The Vicksburg Post: Sports

[9/02/06] St. Andrew's talented backfield duo delivered St. Aloysius its first defeat Friday night.

Quarterback Conway Craig ran for two scores and threw for another, and standout running back Bradford Blackmon ran 15 times for 181 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in a 39-21 win over St. Aloysius.

“We had some opportunities to make some big drives in the first half like we did last week, but we weren't able to capitalize,” said St. Al coach Jim Taylor, whose team trailed 13-3 at halftime, then fell behind by 23 points before mounting a comeback behind Alex Halinski's 269 yards rushing and two touchdowns. “We looked bad on defense, but Blackmon makes you look bad on defense.”

The senior running back scored on a 9-yard run in the second quarter that gave him 79 TDs for his career, which tied him in the Mississippi record books with former Warren Central Brian Darden.

Midway through the third quarter and the Saints' holding a 13-3 lead, Blackmon took a late pitch in front of his bench, weaved through nine would-be St. Aloysius tacklers en route to a 35-yard touchdown that gave the visitors a 19-3 lead and Blackmon his 80th career touchdown.

The missed tackles were indicative of both sides of the field, especially in the second half.

The teams combined for 44 points in the second half and recorded touchdowns of 34, 42, 64, 75 and 85 yards.

“They stood around and watched us so long they got like us,” said St. Andrew's coach David Bradberry, whose team was coming off a 44-29 opening win over Yazoo County. “We didn't tackle well and they didn't tackle well. That's the way it goes sometimes.”

Craig scored on a 15-yard touchdown run with three minutes to play in the third, but Halinski responded with a minute to play in the third with a 75-yard TD run.

Craig again scored midway through the fourth, but again Halinski responded, this time on the Flashes' first play from scrimmage, for an 85 yard run. He rushed 26 times for 269 yards. He ran for 179 yards on 29 carries in a 12-7 opening win over Cathedral.

“Alex Halinski will run hard and he did again tonight,” Taylor said.

Taylor wanted to use more of a passing attack early, but sophomore quarterback Chris Lewis went down in the first half with a leg injury. Freshman Regan Nosser, who had never taken a varsity snap, completed one pass in three attempts and was intercepted late in the first half on a desperation heave.

“I had to try to play hard and focus,” Nosser said. “They had a really good line and put a lot of pressure on us.”

St. Andrew's added another touchdown before Flashes' freshman Ryno Martin-Nez capped the scoring with a 64-yard scamper into the end zone.

The Flashes will leave Vicksburg for the first time next week at Thomastown.

•St. Andrew's 39, St. Aloysius 21

Records

St. Andrew's (2-0); St. Aloysius (1-1)

The skinny

Alex Halinski's 269 yards not enough.

Up next

St. Al at Thomastown, Friday, 7:30 p.m.