STJ 7 0 6 17 30
November 10, 2000. Carlisle Field. Game Conditions: Clear, windy. Game temperature: 56, dropping quickly Wind N 15
After a mostly defensive struggle in the first half, the St. James Trojans and the Daleville Warhawks began marching up and down the field at will, mostly on behalf of the Trojans. St. James rushed for a playoff record 411 yards on 53 carries, 333 of those yards in the second half, with freshman workhorse Ted Brewer picking up 230 himself, 210 of those in the second half, as the Trojans moved on to the second round of the 2000 AHSAA 4A State Playoffs with an exciting 30-22 win over Daleville.
The teams traded punts on their first possessions. On Daleville's third play of their second possession, a snap to the quarterback was fumbled and Trojan Nigel Guntharp fell on the ball at the Warhawk 31. It took St. James only 6 plays to capitalize, with Ted Brewer running the final 5 yards for the first score of the game. Lawton Webb's extra point was good, despite being deflected at the line of scrimmage, giving St. James a 7-0 lead with 3:41 to go in the first quarter.
The teams traded punts again. Daleville took over on their own 27 yard line and quarterback Alvin Winters went to work, mostly on the ground with his dangerous scrambles. Overcoming two penalties, and converting a fake punt on a fourth and one from their own 36 yard line, Winters completed one pass for 9 yards and ran the ball 5 times on the drive for 74 yards, the final 23 on a wide scramble which reached the endzone. The extra point tied the score at 7-7 with 6:05 to go in the half.
Neither team seriously threatened for the remainder of the half, and each team rushed in to warm their hands and bodies in the cold cold wind, different from most of the previous football Fridays during the 2000 regular season.
St. James started the third quarter with one of their patented long and time-consuming drives. Ted Brewer had 9 carries for 42 yards, Nathan Yates added a nice 9 yard run, and Nigel Guntharp contributed a 12 yard run. However, a penalty from the 2 yard line stalled the drive, and a Webb field goal attempt was deflected wide, leading to no score.
Daleville would quickly give the Trojans another chance. Winters got loose on a 15 yard gain but the ball was stripped and recovered by Alan Craft at the Trojan 49. On second down, Brewer broke loose for 26 yards. After a 9 yard run by Craft, Guntharp took the ball the final 17 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was again deflected, and this time failed, but the Trojans had a 13-7 lead with 3:07 to go in the third quarter.
It took the Warhawks only two plays to take their first lead. The kickoff was shanked out of bounds at the Warhawk 47. On first down, 'passing' quarterback Matt McLin went deep for receiver Jeff Aul. The ball was deflected by Trojan defender Nathan Yates, but was caught nevertheless by great concentration on Aul's part. A (temporary) touchdown saving tackle put the ball at the one. However, on first down, 'running' quarterback Winters snuck over. The extra point was good, and Daleville had a 14-13 lead late in the third quarter.
Each team then traded punts, but Daleville's punt was on the first play of the fourth quarter and wind-aided. St. James was backed up to its own 11. Two plays later however, they were on the Warhawk 9, courtesy of brilliant runs by Brewer of 55 and Yates of 25. Yet, the drive netted only 4 yards on the next 3 plays, and Webb was called on again. His field goal from 22 yards out was good, and the Trojans had a 16-14 lead, but with plenty of time left in the game, well over 9 minutes.
Daleville was driving again, but Coe Baxter intercepted a Winters pass at the Trojan 17 and ran it back to the 48. Six plays later, the Trojans were in the endzone again. The scorer this time was Yates, from 10 yards out. Webb's extra point was good and the score was a seemingly safe 23-14 with 5:15 to go.
On the second play of the next drive, Daniel Winn picked off a second Winters pass at the Trojan 42 and returned it to the Warhawk 38. Four plays later, the Trojans were once more in the endzone, thanks in big part to Brewer's 35 yard run, one of his four second half runs of 25 yards or more. Craft snuck over from the one on first down, and another Webb extra point gave the Trojans a 30-14 lead, still with 3:39 to go in the game and Daleville needing 2 touchdowns and 2 two-point conversions.
The Daleville quick strike offense finally connected, as passes of 17, 21, and 20 yards put the ball down on the Trojan 8. Winters completed a pass to Terrance Green, the eighth Warhawk to catch a pass in the game, for a touchdown. Winters just got into the endzone on a successful two point conversion run, and suddenly the Warhawks were back in the game, down only 8 at 30-22 with 1:46 remaining.
An onside kick attempt fell into the cradled arms of St. James' Will Dickson. On second down from the Warhawk 45, Ted Brewer sealed the game breaking up the middle with a 33 yard run. As Daleville had exhausted all of its timeouts, Craft merely downed the ball twice, and St. James celebrated in the cold and wind with a home playoff victory as they awaited their second round opponent.
GAME ELEVEN SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES RUSHING 53 attempts 411 yards 4 TDs (7.75 yards per carry)
42
Brewer 24 /
230 (1 TD) 34
Yates 13 / 120 (1 TD)
2 Guntharp 10 /
57 (1 TD) 10
Craft 6
/ 4 (1 TD)
PASSING 4 completions 9 attempts 1 INT 26 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
10 Craft 4 - 9 - 1 26 yards 0 TDs
RECEIVING
2 Guntharp 2 / 12 34 Yates 1 / 7 88 Patrick 1 / 7
TOTAL YARDS: 437
KICKS: XP 3 /
4
FG: 1 / 2
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 6 (28,26,13,28,19,21)
PUNTS: 4 (25,40,38,36)
KO RETURNS: 4 (21,9,-2,0)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (0,7)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 2 (31,20)
FIRST DOWNS: 18 (17 rushing, 1 passing)
FUMBLES: 0
TURNOVER MARGIN: + 3
PENALTIES: 2 / 15 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 27:13
DALEVILLE RUSHING 27
attempts 120 yards 2 TDs (4.44 yards per carry)
PASSING 10 completions 24 attempts 2
INTs 182 yards 1 TD (2 sacks of, - 22 yards)
TOTAL YARDS: 302
KICKS: XP 2 /
2
FG: 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
FIRST DOWNS: 12 (5 rushing, 6 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 2
PENALTIES: 5 / 49 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 20:47