HAN 14 7 6 15 42
October 25, 2002 Wright Field, Roanoke.
Game Conditions: Cloudy, drizzly, foggy. Game
temperature: 64 Wind light, variable, mostly SE
Five offensive turnovers and four touchdown plays of 40+ yards given up by the defense helped break open a close game early as the Tigers from Handley outscored the Trojans from St. James in the second half 21-0 on the way to a 42-10 regional victory.
St. James actually held the lead in the game early. After the Trojans were forced to punt on the opening drive, the Tiger fair catch was muffed and Matt Ward dove on the ball at the Tiger 39. Several plays later, the ball was all the way down to the Tiger 4, but the drive stalled and Taylor Nelson came in to boot a 21 yard field goal giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead five minutes into the game. It would be their only lead of the evening.
Handley promptly drove down the field 65 yards in 7 running plays with the majority of the damage courtesy of Marquenton Phillips, including the last 20 on the touchdown run. The extra point was good and Handley took the lead at 7-3 with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter. St. James picked up a penalty-aided first down on the next drive, but a pass was intercepted by the Tigers. They returned the favor on the very next play, but the Trojans threw another interception two plays later and the Tigers had the ball on the Trojan 21 after a short return. Three plays later, Cedrick Harrison, a serious thorn in the 2001 Handley victory over St. James, connected on a 20 yard touchdown pass to Adrian Trammell. The extra point was good, and with time still remaining in the first quarter, Handley upped its lead to 14-3.
The next several drives were defensive stands by both teams. With less than 4 minutes to go in the half, a Handley punt was deflected by onrushing Trojans, going sideways, and then picked up by Daniel Winn, who returned the ball to the Tiger 24. Three plays netted one yard, but on fourth and 9 St. James dug deep yet successfully in the play book. A double reverse from Brett Gantt to Daniel Winn to Alex Howell, and a resulting pass from Howell to a very wide open Taylor Nelson in the endzone for a 23 yard touchdown had St. James to within 4 after Nelson's point closed the gap to 14-10 with 2:50 remaining in the half.
However, the first of four long touchdown plays soon after would send St. James reeling. On the second play of the ensuing Handley drive, Harrison called his own number on a 70 yard touchdown run after breaking away from defenders at the line of scrimmage. The extra point pushed the lead back to 11, at 21-10. St. James was driving for a late first half score but an interception stopped the drive.
During halftime, a very light drizzle and a thickening fog began to develop over Wright Field. Amazingly, in the second half, St. James moved the ball almost at will, gaining 13 first downs but never scoring, to only 3 Handley first downs, but 3 touchdowns as well. On the first drive the Tigers were stopped 3 and out, and St. James drove down to the Tiger 36 before losing the ball on downs. From their own 45, it took Handley only 5 plays to score, the fifth play being a 44 yard touchdown run by Carlos Garcia. The extra point kick this time was wide, but the score was up to 27-10 with about 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
A rather controversial interpretation on the next drive basically crushed any hopes of a Trojan comeback. St. James drove all the way from their own 32 down to the Handley 4. On fourth down, quarterback Brett Gantt was sacked, being pulled down by the face mask. A 15 yard penalty (half the distance) face mask was called, but in high school this penalty is not an automatic first down. However, where the penalty was marked off from proved a huge source of consternation. Most agreed the penalty should have been marked from the 4 yard line since the penalty was while the play was in progress and a loss occurred on the play. However, the penalty was marked off from the 14 yard line, the site of the foul, to the 7. From here, the Trojans had to settle for a field goal attempt which was barely wide left.
This 'interpretation' seemed to deflate the team. After Handley took over on the 20, early in the fourth quarter, Phillips picked up his second touchdown, a 54 yard burst. The extra point was good and the score was 34-10. The Trojans suffered another interception, but got the ball back and drove down to the Tiger 3, only to lose the ball again on a fumble, their fifth turnover of the game. Three plays later, Handley wrapped up the game with what is believed to be the longest scoring play from scrimmage ever against St. James. On only the second pass completion of the night for Handley, third down from the 8, Harrison lifted a short pass out to his wide receiver Tim Sutton. Sutton bounced into his own player and a Trojan defender, but broke loose and sailed all the way down the near sidelines for a 92 yard touchdown pass and run. After a 15 yard celebration penalty was tacked on after the touchdown, Handley tried for 2 and the Harrison to Sutton combination was successful, and the scoring was finalized at 42-10, earning Handley second place in the regional standings with their win.
GAME NINE SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES RUSHING 42 attempts 177 yards 0 TDs (4.21 yards per carry)
10 Gantt 14 / 61
11
Howell 9 / 48
22 Winn
7 / 45
42 Brewer
12 /
23
PASSING 12 completions 25 attempts 4
INTs 139 yards 1 TD (3 sacks of, - 27 yards)
10 Gantt 11 - 24 - 4
116 yards (3 sacks, -
27)
11
Howell
1 - 1 - 0 23 yards 1 TD
RECEIVING
6
Roberts 6 / 48
3 Nelson
3 / 40 (1 TD)
4
Joyner 2 / 19
11 Howell
1 / 32
TOTAL YARDS: 316
KICKS: XP 1 / 1 FG 1 / 2 (21 made, 24 missed)HANDLEY
RUSHING 42 attempts 313 yards 4 TDs (7.45
yards per carry)
PASSING 2 completions 4
attempts 1
INT 2 TDs 112 yards (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 425
KICKS: XP 4 /
5
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS: 7 (51,52,42,49,54,51,60) PUNTS: 4
(37,3,42,50)
KO RETURNS: 3 (31,8,12)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (-1f,4)
INTERCEPTION
RETURNS: 4 (1,8,6,2)
FIRST DOWNS: 12 (10 rushing, 2 passing)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
PENALTIES: 9 / 67 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:18