GAME 1:   G.W. Long 19, Saint James 7

August 28, 1987   Collier Field.    Game Conditions:  Partly cloudy.  Game temperature 87.  Wind:  SW  3 - 8

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Lengthy kick returns set up all three touchdowns for the G.W. Long Rebels as they traveled to Montgomery and returned home to Skipperville with a season opening 19 - 7 win over the Trojans. 

Saint James was stopped on their first drive, and a late hit after the Rebel punt return gave G.W. Long a first down at the Trojan 42.  After converting one first down, the Rebels got as close as the Trojan 20 but missed on a 36 yard field goal attempt.  Saint James was again three and out and the ensuing punt was returned 33 yards back to where the previous drive had stalled, the Trojan 20.  This time, the Rebels would not be denied.  Three plays later from the eleven, Shaun Thompson took the handoff, and as the defense was stacked on the line for third and short, he cruised to the endzone after breaking through the initial resistance.  Art Cullifer added the extra point and the Rebels were up 7 - 0 late in the first quarter.

Will Parker earned the initial first down of the season for the Trojans on what would be their longest run of the night, 19 yards, but again the Trojans had to punt before reaching Rebel territory.  G.W. Long earned two first downs before punting deep into Trojan territory to the three yard line.  Saint James was lucky to recover a third down backwards fumble at the three, but on the next play a poor punt traveled only twelve yards and Long had a chance to score from inside the red zone.  An offsides penalty on fourth down from the 10 left the Rebels just short, but Saint James came up with a huge defensive play stopping the Rebel tailback a yard behind the line of scrimmage on the fourth down gamble.  The Rebels began calling timeouts to try and get the ball back before halftime, eventually forcing Saint James to punt from their 15, but Trojan Charlie Edwards forced and recovered a fumble on the punt return, ending any potential late Rebel threat.

Good luck continued for the Trojans as the Rebels fumbled away the second half kickoff return, and Saint James' Jack Draper returned the ball several yards to the Long 33.  Ben Freeman carried for eleven yards on first down, and Coleman Brewster converted a big third down with a run to the Rebel seven.  He was rewarded with the next two handoffs, his only three rushes of the game, and the third was for a one yard touchdown.  Gavin Finklea's extra point tied the score at seven early in the third quarter.

The Saint James kickoff was returned to the Rebel 34, and two plays later a 34 yard run by Larry McCloud had the Rebels threatening again.  After converting a fourth down and one on the Trojan 19, Chris Watson tossed a 15 yard touchdown pass to Thomas Allen two plays later.  However, the extra point attempt was wide and the Trojans were still within six, down 13 - 7, late in the third quarter.

The kick return bugaboo continued on the final play of the third quarter as a Saint James punt, one of eight in the game, was returned to the Trojan 41.  On the second play of the final quarter, McCloud broke loose for a 38 yard touchdown run.  He tried to score on the two point conversion as well, but was stopped a yard short of the endzone. The Rebel lead was now a two possession margin, 19 - 7, with most of the fourth quarter remaining.

Saint James returned the favors the Rebels had provided earlier by fumbling the ensuing kickoff away, but another Rebel field goal attempt, this one from 37 yards, was short, and the Trojans still had life.  Jody Dunning recovered his own fumble at the end of a fourteen yard run for one Trojan first down, and Brewster caught the only completed Trojan pass of the game on the next play for 26 yards.  However, Saint James yielded possession after a loss and two incomplete passes.  The Rebels could not run out the clock and gave Saint James one more chance to score, but the Trojans elected to punt on fourth and five from the Rebel 45 which wrapped up the season opening defeat as one Rebel first down afterwards was more than sufficient enough to run out the clock.

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