GAME 3:   Marbury 14, Saint James 8

Hurricane Florence, only 100 miles off the coast of New Orleans made its distant presence known weatherwise, but it was the arm and leg of Marbury quarterback Scott Connell who ran and passed his way through the Saint James defense in the second quarter while conditions were still bearable, as the visiting Bulldogs handed the Trojans their first loss of the season, 14 - 8, at a well-soaked Collier Field.

John Foshee returned the opening kickoff for the Trojans to the 31 yard line, and the Trojans drove 69 yards with relative ease in 8 plays, all on the ground.  After a one yard loss, Will Parker ran for 37 and 13 yards on two consecutive plays, and followed that up with another nine yard run later for a third first down conversion.  On third down from the Bulldog two, he also carried the final yards for the touchdown.  Two consecutive offside penalties on Marbury on the extra point moved the ball inside the one yard line, and the Trojans opted for a two point conversion.  The fake to Parker gave Bryan Skelton an easy handoff and walk into the endzone and the Trojans were up 8 early.

Marbury's ensuing drive was perhaps even more impressive.  A peculiar defensive holding penalty on the kickoff return moved the ball up to the Bulldog 36.  Quarterback Scott Connell ran for two first downs and tossed two passes, one of them Marbury's only completion of the night, for another first down.  The Bulldogs converted two fourth downs on the drive, one thanks to a defensive offside penalty.  Connell carried into the endzone on the first play of the second quarter.  A delay of the game penalty pushed the ball back on the conversion attempt, but Connell still carried in from eight yards out earning the tying two points.

In a fast moving and increasingly wet first half, Saint James held for the next nine plays before an interception was returned to the Trojan 45.  From there, after a five yard run to start the drive, Connell kept the ball seven consecutive times and covered 40 yards, the final yard on a touchdown run with just over three minutes remaining in the half.  This time, Connell attempted to kick an extra point, but the wind blew it wide, and the Marbury lead was only 6.

After a Saint James punt, Marbury had one more chance to score, but after recovering their own bobbled snap deep in their own territory on first down, they decided to run out the clock instead and preserve the six point halftime lead.

With a rain soaked and wind-blown surface, field position would be key in the second half.  Marbury had the ball and the wind in the third quarter, as Saint James wanted to ensure the wind behind their backs in the final quarter.  The Bulldogs converted one first down before booming a punt down to the Trojan two.

Jeff George ran for one first down, but two consecutive four yard quarterback sacks forced a punt deep in Trojan territory.  However, two plays later, Connell fumbled a snap at the Saint James 34 and turned over the ball.  The Trojans again could gain no yards, but did manage a respectable, non-returned, 31 yard punt into the wind.  From their own 26, Marbury began running clock after changing sides and wind direction.  Thirteen consecutive running plays ran off almost 9 minutes of the second half clock before the Trojans forced a stop on fourth down at the Saint James 24.

A defensive offside penalty and a run by George gave the Trojans one first down, but a dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the ball back near the Saint James twenty.  From there, the Trojans had no choice but to take their chances with a wet and wind-disturbed football in the air.  After an incompletion, Wade Hartley completed consecutive passes to Barry Nave for 33 yards, and to Billy Byrd for 24 yards, and the ball was suddenly down to the Bulldog 23.  Three plays netted no yards however, and on fourth down a lateral which gave Parker an option to run or pass from his halfback position turned into neither as he was tackled for a two yard loss.  With only one Trojan timeout and 75 seconds remaining, Marbury needed just to surround the wet football safely for the victory.

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