GAME 5:  @ Alabama Christian 48, Saint James 21

October 4, 1991   McLemore Field.  Game Conditions:  Increasing cloudiness   Game Temperature:  70   Wind:  SE  5 - 10

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The Saint James offense was completely shut down in the first half, and the defense didn't fare much better, allowing homestanding Alabama Christian to build a five touchdown lead by halftime upon which allowed the Eagles to cruise to a 48 - 21 victory over the visiting Trojans, their largest such margin of victory over Saint James ever.

Saint James had the ball first, but on the second play from scrimmage, Kenneth Hedgepeth intercepted a pass and returned it to the Trojan 27.  From there, on first down, he was rewarded with an immediate carry and a touchdown.  David Rains' kick hit the upright but went through, giving Alabama Christian a very early 7 - 0 lead.

As had bitten them twice the previous week, a lost Trojan fumble on a kickoff return gave the Eagles another immediate chance to score, but a botched handoff and several incomplete passes led to a 33 yard field goal attempt by Rains, which came up short.

The Trojans only gained one yard on their next possession, and their resulting punt went out of bounds before the midfield stripe.  A personal foul penalty helped the Eagles move toward the goal line, and Lee Pouncey carried in from 27 yards for the second touchdown of the quarter.  The extra point gave Alabama Christian a 14 point lead.

Saint James' bad luck continued as the next kickoff was fielded by the returner with a foot out of bounds at the 12 yard line.  A 6 yard sack, an incomplete pass, and a 3 yard loss on a run forced another punt, which was shanked, traveling only as far as the Trojan 31.  However, the defense finally stopped the Eagles and forced an end zone punt of their own.  From the 20, however, the Trojans again could not gain yardage and their punt was blocked by Hedgepeth, going out of bounds at the four yard line.  From there, one carry by Pouncey was enough for Alabama Christian's third touchdown of the opening quarter.  Rains' kick pushed the lead to 21 barely more than 10 minutes into the game.

Another short punt on Saint James' next possession went out of bounds at the Trojan 41.  After an incomplete pass, Jason Todd hooked up on one of his only two completions of the game, a 41 yard strike to Matt Barrett.  Wade Norton replaced Rains as the kicker for the remainder of the game, and booted the extra for a 28 point Eagle lead.

The Trojans finally converted their only first down of the first half on a seven yard pass from Chris Armstrong to Rob Stallworth.  Another punt finally moved the ball out of Trojan territory.  For a very short time.  On first down from the Eagle 37, Mitchell Johnston carried for four yards.  On the next play, Pouncey broke loose for his third touchdown of the game, a 59 yard scamper.  Norton's kick gave the Eagles an impressive 35 - 0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Saint James had to punt again, but penalties thankfully prevented Alabama Christian from scoring again before the end of the half, although they got as close as the Trojan 28.

To start the second half, Saint James lined up for the onside kick which the Eagles were expecting, but Danny Mayer still recovered the combination onsides / pooch kick for the Trojans at the Eagle 37.  An 18 yard run by Ken Turnipseed, who was returning to action after what had appeared to be a perhaps season ending injury in the Beauregard game, and several penalties including a defensive pass interference, gave Saint James first down at the Eagle four yard line.  Two plays later, Turnipseed scored from the three, and the Trojans were finally on the board with Karl Fangmeier's extra point.

The Trojans stopped the Eagles and took over after a punt was downed at midfield, but themselves fumbled two plays later.  However, the Eagles were stopped on downs inside the Trojan 30.  The final play of the third quarter was a badly shanked punt traveling only seven yards, going out of bounds at the Saint James 40.  On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mitchell Johnston took the handoff and squirmed and battled through several Trojan tacklers, breaking loose for a 40 yard touchdown run.  A botched snap on the extra point kept the score at 41 - 7 in favor of Alabama Christian.

It appeared disaster had struck again on the Trojans' first play of their next drive, but a face mask penalty wiped out a lost fumble recovered by the Eagles at the Trojan two yard line.  After a 13 yard run later by Craig Hill, Armstrong lifted a pass down the sidelines to Andy Roberson, who made an amazing catch.  Although he appeared to be out of bounds, a referee from the middle of the field mercifully rewarded the effort by marking a successful catch 42 yards downfield at the Eagle 21.  Another face mask penalty wiped out a loss inside the 10 yard line, and Turnipseed carried the final 4 yards for his second touchdown.  This time, Hartley added the extra point, pushing the Trojans into double digits.

The ensuing pooch kick was not nearly as successful as the previous one, as Kenneth Hedgepeth picked up the bouncing ball at his own 30 and broke through the Trojan pursuers on his way to a 70 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  Norton's extra point quickly had Alabama Christian back up by 36 with nearly 8 minutes remaining in the game.

The Trojans, now playing against reserve Eagle defenders, marched methodically down the field.  On third and 8 from the Eagle 21, Chris Armstrong lifted a pass to a wide open Rob Stallworth for a touchdown and Hartley's extra point finalized the scoring at 48 - 21.  The Eagles were able to run off enough clock before they punted on the final play of the game, and Saint James lost a crucial area matchup a week before traveling to area favorite Calera the next week.

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