TAL 6 6 14 0 26
October 13, 2000. Hot O'Brien Stadium, Tallassee. Game Conditions: Clear Game Temperature: 64 Wind WSW 3
Friday the 13th, 2000 proved a haunting one for the Trojans as the Tigers from Tallassee struck early and often, mostly on the 217 yard rushing performance of Tiger sophomore Kelvin Anderson and the arm and legs of quarterback Cody Goodman, as they cruised to a Homecoming 26-7 win over St. James in the first ever varsity football meeting between the two teams.
After the Trojans punted on their first possession, it took only 3 plays for Tallassee to claim a lead they would not relinquish. A 49 yard run by Anderson gave the Tigers first and goal on the Trojan 8. After a 5 yard penalty, Anderson was called on again for the toss sweep and converted the touchdown from 13 yards out. The extra point was blocked, but Tallassee had an early 6-0 lead.
St. James managed four first downs on their next time-consuming drive, but could not convert a fourth and six from the Tiger 16. After a short Tiger punt, the Trojans took over once more on the Tallassee 42. On the first play of the second quarter, Trojan Nigel Guntharp ran for 16 yards. However, on the next play, a pass toward the endzone was intercepted by Tallassee's Anderson. On first down from their own 2, Tallassee quarterback Cody Goodman executed the near-perfect option play, avoiding early traffic and numerous downfield tackle attempts, as he squeezed through 98 yards for an amazing touchdown run. However, an illegal block at the Tiger 30 negated the huge run. Tallassee did manage to convert four first downs later on the same drive, but had to eventually punt, doing so successfully deeply, pinning the Trojans back on their own 2 yard line.
Three one yard runs resulted in another punt and a short field for Tallassee. In a 42 yard drive which included two illegal procedure penalties, Goodman converted two consecutive long passes to Damion Matthews for 19 and 27 yards, the second going the distance for the touchdown. A two point pass attempt failed, and Tallassee had doubled their lead to 12-0 with only 35 seconds left in the first half.
Unlike the previous week when the Trojan defense held steadfast after halftime, Tallassee picked right back up where they left off, on long rushing plays. On the third play of the second half, Anderson took another handoff for 67 yards and his second touchdown of the game. The extra point this time was good, and 1:05 into the third quarter, Tallassee bolstered their lead to 19-0.
On the next drive, St. James was intercepted on a fake punt attempt. The Trojans held, but had to punt again themselves four plays later. On second down and 3 from the Tiger 40, quarterback Goodman got loose again on an option play for 60 yards and this time the run was not called back. The extra point was again good and Tallassee had full control of the game at 26-0 with 3 minutes to go in the third.
The star of the game for St. James was ninth grader Ted Brewer, who was promoted from the Junior Varsity team earlier in the week. His first appearance in the varsity backfield was a huge lift to an otherwise mostly sluggish performance. During a 16 play 88 yard drive in which the Trojans overcame two major penalties, and benefited from two Tiger penalties, Brewer carried the ball 9 times for 53 yards against the first string Tiger defense, including the final three carries on the drive for 13, 4, and 4 yards. The touchdown helped the Trojans avoid their first shutout since the 1996 season. Lawton Webb's extra point was good, cutting the lead to 26-7. Tallassee managed a first down on a roughing the punter penalty on the final drive, and held the ball the remainder of the game salting up a crucial region victory for them and further shaking up the standings in 4A region 3.
GAME SEVEN SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES RUSHING 42 attempts 197 yards 1 TD (4.69 yards per carry)
42 Brewer
11 / 68 (1 TD)
34
Yates
12 / 52
2 Guntharp 9 /
34
10
Craft
4 / 33
22
Winn
6 / 10
PASSING 2 completions 12 attempts 2 INTs 23 yards (1 sack of, - 11 yards)
10
Craft
2 - 11 - 1 23 yards (1 sack, - 11)
2 Guntharp 0 - 1
- 1 0 yards
RECEIVING
4 Holloway 1 / 12 44 Salvia 1 / 11
TOTAL YARDS: 220
KICKS: XP 1 / 1 FG: 0 / 0TALLASSEE RUSHING 38
attempts 350 yards 3 TDs (9.21 yards per carry)
(Anderson, 18 carries for 217
yards)
PASSING 2 completions 4
attempts 0 INTs 46 yards 1 TD (1
sack of, - 7 yards)
TOTAL YARDS: 396
KICKS: XP 2 /
3
FG: 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
FIRST DOWNS: 13 (10 rushing, 2 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 0
PENALTIES: 14 / 89 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:18