GAME 5: @ Alabama Christian 20, Saint James 8

STJ 0 8 0 0 8

ACA 7 7 6 0 20

SCORING SUMMARY:

ACA (1)   1:36    J. Anfield 45 run                  (Dixon kick)     0 - 7
ACA (2)   3:21    D. Anfield 6 run                 (Dixon kick)     0 - 14
STJ   (2)   0:18    Robertson 16 pass from Cole    (Cole run)     8 - 14
ACA (3)   3:15    Fuller 4 run                           (kick blocked)     8 - 20

September 29, 1995. Alabama Christian Field. Game Conditions: not yet available

The Anfield brothers were big trouble for Saint James, as Joe scored on a 45 yard touchdown run and David added a 6 yard touchdown to help the Alabama Christian Eagles overpower the Trojans 20 - 8 in a Capital City Conference matchup.

Saint James began the game with a double-barreled rushing attack by Mark Berry, and Sequon Herring, who changed his jersey number to try and change his luck for this game from 10 to 11. Seven runs netted the Trojans 40 yards, but on fourth down and 3, Herring could only pick up 2 and Saint James turned the ball over.

After David Anfield picked up a first down on the first play, the Trojan defense held and forced a punt. However, the Eagles defense fared similarly and earned the ball back for their offense at their own 33 after another punt. Three rushing plays gained 22 yards, and then Joe Anfield broke loose from the 45 for the first touchdown of the game late in the first quarter. Tyler Dixon's extra point gave Alabama Christian a 7 - 0 lead.

After two short runs, Rob Cole connected with Will Webber on a long pass play of 46 yards to open the second quarter. Again, though, the Eagle defense toughened and Saint James turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Eagle 23. Alabama Christian responded with a 77 yard drive for another touchdown. David Anfield, from his quarterback position, kept for runs of 11 and 16 yards, and a face mask penalty moved the ball down to the Trojan 20. A completed pass cut the yardage nearly in half, and several plays later, David called his own number again from the Trojan 6 for the Eagles' second touchdown. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the extra point attempt back 15 yards, but Dixon still connected, giving Alabama Christian a two touchdown lead late in the first half.

After a short kickoff return, the Trojans had barely 3 minutes to travel over 75 yards to score. They did, using nearly every second. Herring caught a Cole pass for 15 yards and a first down, and later Jason Smith picked up 8 yards for another. After a sack and an incomplete pass, Herring picked up 14 on third and 15 to set up a fourth down and 1. The Trojans called their final timeout with 32 seconds remaining. On the fourth down attempt, Herring cleared the line and was just caught from behind 23 yards downfield giving Saint James a first down at the Eagle 16. However, the clock had failed to start, still showing 32 seconds. After a lot of deliberation by the four man (undermanned) officiating crew, they agreed to set the clock at 23 seconds. Of course, Alabama Christian thought more time had elapsed and Saint James thought not that much had. When the ball was set to play, though, Cole immediately downed the ball to stop the clock, again at 23 seconds. After another discussion, the clock was left there. It didn't matter, because on the next play Cole quickly found Jay Robertson open down the field for a 16 yard catch and run for a touchdown. The Eagles were offside on the extra point kick attempt, so the Trojans elected to go for the two point conversion as the ball was moved halfway to the goal line. Cole simply snuck the ball up the middle and into the endzone for a two point conversion, and suddenly Saint James was within a touchdown at 8 - 14. The Eagles tried some trickery with a reverse or two on the ensuing kickoff, but they were tackled short of midfield and the first half clock had "officially" expired.

The Trojan momentum carried into the second half as Saint James forced an opening three and out against the Eagles. Herring quickly picked up two first downs and Saint James was in business at the Alabama Christian 33. However, a fumble on the next play was recovered by the Eagles and they set out on a time consuming 69 yard drive. David Anfield overcame a holding penalty with a huge 24 yard run on third and 16. The relatively fresh legs of Patrick Fuller began to take their toll on tiring Trojan defenders. He picked up two rushing first downs as well, and another face mask penalty added even more yardage. Afterwards, three consecutive Fuller runs from the 11 yard line, the final one of four yards, gave the Eagles a third rushing touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but Alabama Christian was back up to a two possession lead at 20 - 8 with over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Saint James could only pick up one first down on the next drive, and then punted. A holding penalty near the end of the third quarter pushed Alabama Christian back to their own 14, and on fourth down the Eagle punt was very nearly blocked. However, to avoid the block, the ball was shanked sideways and actually went out of bounds just short of the line of scrimmage, giving the Trojans excellent field position at the Alabama Christian 32. Unfortunately for Saint James, on the first play a pass was tipped and intercepted at the 27 yard line, as the Trojans wasted a golden opportunity to close the gap.

The Trojan defense held the Eagles on the next drive, but valuable time was escaping the clock. Herring caught a 22 yard pass from Cole to push the Trojans back into Eagle territory, but several plays later he fumbled another pass reception and Alabama Christian took over at their own 39 with 4:42 remaining. The Trojans were running out of timeouts, and a key first down run by David Anfield plus an additional 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in essence sealed the game for the Eagles. Alabama Christian managed to get as close as the Trojan 5 as time was running out, but they simply kneeled down to let the time run out and let the disappointed Trojan fans and players return home without the victory and back to their televisions to watch the potential coastal and inward invasion of Hurricane Opal.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME FIVE

SAINT JAMES RUSHING 31 attempts 139 yards 0 TDs (4.48 yards per carry)

11 Herring 18 / 115 20 Berry 6 / 22
17 Smith 2 / 9 12 Cole 5 / - 7

PASSING 5 completions 12 attempts 1 INT 102 yards 1 TD (3 sacks of, - 15 yards)

12 Cole 5 - 12 - 1 102 yards 1 TD

RECEIVING

11 Herring 3 / 40 21 Webber 1 / 46 44 Robertson 1 / 16 (TD)

TOTAL YARDS: 241

                          KICKS: XP 0 / 0 FG 0 / 0
                          2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
                          KICKOFFS: 2 (37,33)    PUNTS: 2 (38,42)
                          KO RETURNS: 4 (9,16,6,17)                     PUNT RETURNS: 3 (7,0,0)
                          FIRST DOWNS:   10 (6 rushing, 4 passing)
      FUMBLES: 3, lost 2
                          TURNOVER MARGIN: - 3
                        PENALTIES: 3 / 40 yards
                          TIME OF POSSESSION: 20:07

A C A     RUSHING   46 attempts 267 yards 3 TDs (5.80 yards per carry)
                          PASSING    1 completion 3 attempts 0 INTs 11 yards 0 TDs   (no sacks of)
                          TOTAL YARDS: 278

                          KICKS: XP 2 / 3                FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 4 (49,50,44,53)       PUNTS: 4 (36,29,-1,30)
                          KO RETURNS: 2 (19,6)    PUNT RETURNS: 1 (0)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
                          FIRST DOWNS:   16 (13 rushing, 1 passing, 2 penalty)
                          FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
                          PENALTIES: 4 / 36 yards
    TIME OF POSSESSION: 27:53

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