9-27-02 ST. JAMES 61, Alabama Christian 12

SCORING SUMMARY:

STJ (1) 10:32 Winn 6 run (Ward kick)    7 - 0
STJ (1) 7:56 Brewer 6 run (Ward kick)    14 - 0
STJ (1) 3:55 Brewer 9 run (Ward kick) 21 - 0
ACA (2) 11:14 Fuller 2 pass from Leger    (kick blocked)       21 - 6
STJ (2) 9:12 Winn 33 run (Ward kick)    28 - 6
STJ (2) 5:51 Howell 7 run (kick failed) 34 - 6
STJ (3) 6:46 Howell 20 run (Ward kick) 41 - 6
STJ (3) 4:37 Wahl 30 pass from Murphy (Ward kick)    48 - 6
STJ (3)    0:30 Thompson 9 pass from Kreischer (Ward kick) 55 - 6
ACA (4) 9:47 Woodard 35 run (kick blocked)      55 - 12
STJ (4) 1:04 Simon 3 pass from Kreischer    (kick blocked)      61 - 12

September 27, 2002 Carlisle Field HOMECOMING Game conditions: Cloudy, breezy Game Temperature: 74 Wind SW 10-15 occasionally gusty

Will Thrasher intercepted two first quarter passes, Alex Howell had 203 all purpose yards including an 83 yard kickoff return and a 57 yard punt return, and St. James scored touchdowns on eight of their first nine game possessions as they took command early and cruised to a 61-12 Homecoming victory over the youthful but gutsy Alabama Christian Eagles.

Howell's 83 yard kickoff return started the game off in a big way; he was tackled at the Eagle 12 preventing an opening kickoff return touchdown. Just three plays later, Daniel Winn, on only his second carry of the season, scored his second touchdown of the season from 6 yards out. Matt Ward, substituting for regular kicker Taylor Nelson who did not dress out, kicked the first of his seven extra points on the evening giving the Trojans an early 7-0 lead.

Thrasher intercepted his first pass on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage. Six plays later, it was Ted Brewer from 6 yards out for the touchdown. Ward's extra point boosted the lead to 14-0 just over 5 minutes into the game.

The Eagles, who managed 99 yards of rushing in the first quarter despite being shut out, drove down the field, but on fourth down from the Trojan 36, Thrasher intercepted again and returned 41 yards from the Trojan 26 to the Eagle 33. Four plays later, Brewer ran into the endzone again, this time from 9 yards. The extra point gave St. James a 21-0 lead with nearly 4 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Alabama Christian's most productive drive followed, lasting well over 4 minutes and traveling 66 yards. On the second play of the second quarter from the Trojan 2, a desperate quarterback Channing Leger while being tackled underhanded the ball forward to Travis Fuller for a crafty two yard touchdown pass. The extra point was blocked, but the Eagles had closed the lead to 21-6 with still a lot of time remaining.

St. James quickly drove 80 yards in 5 plays, highlighted by a Howell 24 yard run, a Brett Gantt 10 yard run, and Daniel Winn's third carry of the season, a 33 yard touchdown run (his third touchdown of the season). Ward's kick upped the score to 28-6 less than three minutes into the second quarter.

After the Eagles turned the ball over on downs, the Trojans' next drive featured a 29 yard pass from Gantt to Chris Roberts and a 7 yard touchdown run by Howell. This time the extra point was just wide, and the Trojans had a safe lead midway through the second quarter. After a very short Eagle punt, the Trojans had one more chance to score late in the half, but a Ward field goal attempt from 30 yards out was just wide left.

The first second half drive by St. James featured Daniel Winn runs of 20 and 17, but neither ending in the endzone (his first such non-touchdown runs of the season), and another Howell touchdown run from 20 yards out. Ward's extra point increased the lead to 41-6 and the starters for both teams spent most of the rest of the night on the bench.

Ward added to the defensive side of the ballgame with St. James' third interception of the night and his 15 yard return to the Eagle 40. Backup quarterback Tyler Murphy led the Trojans down the field on the ground and in the air. His own underhand pitch (which was technically a forward pass) went to Tyler Wahl, who scooted 30 yards down the near sidelines for another St. James touchdown. Ward booted the point to give the Trojans a 48-6 lead with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter.

Howell re-entered the game on punt return detail and again livened the crowd with a beautiful 57 yard return to the Eagles 15. Third stringer Travis Kreisher took over, and on third down threw a short slant pass to Taylor Thompson who weaved around defenders for a 9 yard touchdown catch and run. The extra point boosted the lead to 55-6 with still 30 plus seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Eagle reserves managed a nice touchdown drive against the Trojan reserves. Timmy Woodard had a 20 yard run and a 35 yard run for the touchdown, breaking several tackles. The ACA extra point was again blocked, leaving the score at 55-12. With the clock running virtually non-stop now, the Trojans managed one more touchdown on their final drive. A short pass from Kreischer to David Joyner became the biggest scrimmage play yardage-wise of the night for the Trojans, a 39 yard catch and run down to the Eagles 3. From there, Kreischer tossed his second touchdown pass, this one to Jack Simon. The extra point was blocked, but St. James concluded the scoring and earned a Capital City Conference victory over a long time rival.

                       22 Winn    4 / 76 (2 TDs)    11 Howell 5 / 63 (2 TDs)     42 Brewer 14 / 50 (2 TD)
        10 Gantt    6 / 35           7 Kreischer 3 / 14                9 Murphy     4 / 6
                        44 Krothapalli    1 / 6    35 Wahl    2 / 1

                       10   Gantt       2 - 5 - 0 33 yards 0 TDs (1 sack, - 7)
                        7 Kreischer 3 - 4 - 0 51 yards 2 TDs
                        9 Murphy 1 - 3 - 0    30 yards 1 TDs

4 Joyner 1 / 39 35 Wahl 1 / 30 (TD) 6 Roberts 1 / 29
80 Thompson 1 / 9 (TD) 42 Brewer 1 / 4 33 Simon 1 / 3 (TD)

                        KICKS: XP 7 / 9                FG 0 / 1 (30 missed)
                      2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS: 10 (42,57,46,25,55,42,45,38,45,53) PUNTS: 0
                        KO RETURNS: 3 (83,9,50)                 PUNT RETURNS: 2 (57,0)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 3 (3,41,15)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   22 (16 rushing, 5 passing, 1 penalty)
                        FUMBLES: 4, lost 0
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   + 4
                        PENALTIES: 0 / 0 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION: 21:49

ACA                RUSHING   45 attempts 230 yards 1 TD (5.11 yards per carry)
                       PASSING      2 completions 8 attempts 3 INTs 19 yards   1 TD (no sacks of)
                        TOTAL YARDS: 249

                        KICKS: XP 0 / 2                FG 0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                      KICKOFFS: 3 (56,49,45)           PUNTS: 2 (2,26)
                      KO RETURNS: 9 (9,27,20,3,12,18,10,5,13)     PUNT RETURNS: 0
                             FIRST DOWNS: 14 (13 rushing, 1 passing)
                        FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
                        PENALTIES: 4 / 30 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:11

GAME 5: ST. JAMES 61, Alabama Christian 12