St. James scored three touchdowns in a span of 35 seconds (oh, and Tallassee scored one in that period of time, also) to break open a close game for the better part of 3 quarters, while the Trojan defense held Tallassee to only 85 yards from scrimmage, cruising to a 35-6 region win over the visiting Tigers, avenging a loss at Tallassee's homecoming the previous year.

St. James marched down the field with precision 85 yards the first time they held the ball.  After a 13 yard run by Nathan Yates and a 6 yard run by Ted Brewer, quarterback Alan Craft tossed the ball to Alex Howell and he scampered down the sidelines for 53 yards to the Tiger 13.  A Yates run of 4, a Brewer run of 8, and a quarterback sneak by Craft gave the Trojans a 6-0 lead.  The extra point was wide.

The remainder of the first half was a defensive struggle.  Tallassee intercepted two passes deep in their territory, but never threatened to even cross into Trojan territory.  St. James had one scoring opportunity in the last minute of the half after Josh Thomas returned a punt to the Tallassee 39, but a 37 yard field goal attempt was just wide and short with 31 seconds left in the second quarter.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Tallassee moved into Trojan territory but was forced to punt.  A Thomas punt return of 27 yards gave St. James the ball on their own 41.  Another long drive ate up the clock, and after Thomas converted a fourth down and 2 with a brilliant 19 yard run, he dashed the final 7 yards for a touchdown.  Nathan Yates added a two point conversion run, and St. James had a 14-0 lead with 2:30 to go in the third quarter.

Tallassee drove to the St. James 23, their deepest penetration, but a sack and an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back.  This time, St. James used up 6 more minutes in the fourth quarter on only its second possession of the half, a 13 play drive highlighted by Yates runs of 14 and 9, and Brewer runs of 14 and 2 yards for the touchdown.  Marshall Darneille's extra point brushed the upright but went through, and St. James had a 21-0 lead with 3:05 remaining in the game.  In the next 35 seconds, three more touchdowns were scored in a game where it seemed scoring would be at a premium.

St. James attempted a successful surprise onside kick (recovered by the kicker Darneille himself) to negate Tallassee's most serious scoring threat, their kickoff return.  From the Tiger 44, on first down,  Thomas finished up his 138 yard performance with a 44 yard jaunt down the sidelines for a quick touchdown.  Darneille's extra point was good, and just 17 seconds after the previous score, St. James had a 28-0 lead.

The Trojans decided to kick deep this time, and Tallassee running back Kelvin Anderson, who had run rampant through the St. James defense in the 2000 meeting, ran back the ensuing kickoff for 82 yards and a touchdown, making nearly as many yards on that play as the offense did the entire evening.  The extra point failed, and St. James had a 28-6 lead with 2:44 to go.

After a personal foul following the extra point, Tallassee attempted their own onside kick from the 25.  Daniel Winn recovered for St. James on the Tiger 35, and on the next play, Alex Howell, normally a split end, took the handoff on his first carry of the season.  He picked up several nifty blocks, and zoomed down the sidelines for another touchdown, the fourth touchdown in 35 seconds of game time.  Darneille's extra point was good for the final margin of  35-6.  Tallassee muffed and lost the ball on an ensuing pooch kickoff, and the Trojans virtually ran out the remainder of the clock claiming victory.

GAME SEVEN SIDELINE STATISTICS:

ST. JAMES      RUSHING   47 attempts  281 yards  5 TDs  (5.98 yards per carry)

                          7   Thomas     11 / 138  (2 TDs)      42   Brewer    16 / 70  (1 TD)     34   Yates         12 /  54
                         11   Howell        2 /  39   (1 TD)       10   Craft         3 / - 2  (1 TD)     51   Drennen      1 / -  2
                          8   Pappas         1 / - 4                      6   Gantt        1 / - 12

                        PASSING     2 completions  5 attempts   2 INTs  57 yards  0 TDs  (1 sack of, - 4 yards)

                        10   Craft          2 - 4 - 1      57 yards   (1 sack, - 4)
                          7   Thomas      0 - 1 - 1        0 yards

                        RECEIVING

                        11   Howell        1 / 53                 34   Yates        1 /  4

                        TOTAL YARDS:   338

                        KICKS:  XP  3 / 4                  FG  0 / 1  (37 missed)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:    1 / 1
                        KICKOFFS:  6 (43,35,47,20,16,42)               PUNTS:  1 (47)
                        KO RETURNS:  3 (4,0,0on)                         PUNT RETURNS:   4  (7,9,5,27)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   18  (16 rushing, 1 passing, 1 penalty)
                        FUMBLES:  0
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   0
                        PENALTIES:  4 / 40 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  25:15

TALLASSEE    RUSHING   35 attempts  73 yards  0 TDs   (2.09 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      2 completions  5 attempts  0 INTs  12 yards   0 TDs  (3 sacks of, - 21 yards)
                        TOTAL YARDS:   85

                        KICKS:  XP  0 / 1                FG  0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS:  2 (49,10)                                  PUNTS:  5  (31,29,35,30,36)
                        KO RETURNS:  5  (23,10,16,82TD,0f)         PUNT RETURNS:  0
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  2  (0,4)
                        FIRST DOWNS:  8   (7 rushing, 1 penalty)
                        FUMBLES:  6, lost 2
                        PENALTIES:  7 / 45 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  22:45