GAME 10:  Montgomery Academy 26, St. James 20

M A         7        8        3        8            26

STJ        13        7        0        0            20

SCORING SUMMARY:

STJ  (1)   8:35   Brewer 11 run                                                  (Nelson kick)        7 -  0
MA  (1)   6:47   McNair 37 run                                                  (Crum kick)         7 -  7
STJ  (1)     :28   Roberts 28 pass from Gantt                              (kick failed)       13 -  7
STJ  (2)   6:21   Gantt 7 run                                                     (Nelson kick)       20 -  7
MA  (2)     :52   Jackson 2 run                                                   (Parker run)      20 - 15
MA  (3)   6:27   Crum 34 FG                                                                               20 - 18
MA  (4)   9:59   McNair 73 pass from Tyson         (McNair pass from Tyson)     20 - 26

November 1, 2002   Carlisle Field, Montgomery  Game conditions:  Partly cloudy, chilly, breezy.  Game temperature:  54   Winds NW 15, occasionally gusty

Two untimely second half fumbles inside the opponents' 10 yard line proved fatal as St. James was held scoreless in the second half for the second consecutive week by the visiting Montgomery Academy Eagles.  The Eagles won their fifth consecutive game of the season, and their second in the last two Carlisle Field meetings with the Trojans;  a 73 yard touchdown pass early in the final quarter proving to be the difference in an M A 26-20 win on a chilly windy football weather evening.

St. James had a brilliant 10 play 65 yard drive to begin the game, featuring first down passes from Brett Gantt to Alex Howell for 20 yards and Chris Roberts for 10.  The final 11 yards were traversed by Ted Brewer on a strong run for the touchdown.  Taylor Nelson's extra point gave St. James an early 7-0 lead just 3:25 into the game.

The Eagles quickly rebounded with a 4 play 57 yard drive of their own.  Dexter Jackson runs of 17, 1, and 2 set up Michael McNair for a 37 yard burst up the middle.  William Crum's extra point tied the score at 7 midway through the first quarter.

After a St. James punt, Will Thrasher intercepted a pass at the Eagle 49.  Six plays later, Gantt connected again with Roberts on a beautiful 28 yard sprint pass on a fourth and six play down the far sidelines for another touchdown.  The point after was wide right, but the Trojans had a 13-7 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the opening period.

The Eagles were forced to punt again after a personal foul penalty, and the Trojans this time marched 52 yards in a time consuming 11 play drive.  Gantt runs of 14 and 12, a Brewer run of 12, and an Alex Howell run of 11 helped move the ball down to the 7, where Gantt swept wide for the third Trojan touchdown.  Nelson's extra point was good this time, and St. James had a 20-7 lead midway through the second quarter.  However, it would be their last tally of the regular season.

The teams traded punts, but M A gained field position with a shorter Trojan punt into the stiff wind.  From the Trojan 43, the Eagles performed the 2 minute drill in actually less than one minute, as Jackson darted in from the two with 52 seconds remaining.  The extra point was lined up for, but the holder handed the ball off to Walter Parker who took the ball in for a two point conversion, and the lead was cut to 5 points at 20-15 just before halftime.

Montgomery Academy used up nearly half of the third quarter on their opening drive.   From their own 34, the Eagles moved as far as the Trojan 18 before two passes out of the endzone stifled the drive.  William Crum kicked a 34 yard field goal to close the gap to 2, at 20-18, with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third.

St. James was again driving, but coughed up the ball on a fumble on a third and one play at the Eagle 7 yard line just before the end of the quarter.   Five plays later, on a drive which benefited from a minor face mask penalty, quarterback Ty Tyson rared back and found a wide open McNair down the middle running the perfect post pattern, a play the Trojans used with great success early in the season, and no Trojan defender could catch him from behind.  The Eagles again set up for an extra point kick, but Tyson, the holder, took the ball and passed once more to McNair just inbounds on the far sideline of the endzone for a second two point conversion and a 6 point lead, which would be the end of the evening's scoring, at 26-20.

A short angled kickoff was fielded by Trojan Matt Ward and returned 33 yards to the Eagle 37 where the tackle saved what would have been a touchdown, setting the Trojans up in business again.  Four consecutive runs of 6,4,5, and 7 yards moved the ball down to the Eagle 15.  On first down, Gantt completed a pass to Roberts, but while being wrapped up by tacklers the ball was wrestled away and M A recovered on their own 9 yard line, thwarting another scoring opportunity inside the opponents' 10.

The Eagles managed two first downs and consumed another 3½ minutes of clock time before punting the ball back to St. James for one last drive, only their third possession of the second half.  With 3:33 remaining the Trojans had the ball on their own 37, but could not convert a first down, thus turning the ball back over to the Eagles, who managed to run out the clock for a hard fought Capital City Conference victory.

GAME TEN SIDELINE STATISTICS

ST. JAMES      RUSHING   40 attempts  194 yards   2 TDs  (4.85 yards per carry) 

                        10   Gantt       21 / 102 (1 TD)     42   Brewer         13 / 56  (1 TD)    11   Howell       6 /  36

                        PASSING     9 completions  14 attempts  0 INTs  88 yards   1 TD  (2 sacks of, - 5 yards)

                        10   Gantt         9 - 14 - 0     88 yards   1 TD  (2 sacks, - 5)

                        RECEIVING

                        11   Howell        4 / 35                  6   Roberts           3 / 44  (1 TD)      3   Nelson        2 /   9

                        TOTAL YARDS:   282

                        KICKS:  XP  2 / 3                FG  0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS:   4 (39,54.40,40)                 PUNTS:  2  (44,23)
                        KO RETURNS:  2 (18,33)                      PUNT RETURNS:  1  (-1)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURN:  1  (0)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   17   (12 rushing, 4 passing, 1 penalty)
                        FUMBLES:  3, lost 2
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   - 1
                        PENALTIES:  4 / 33 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  23:54

M  A                RUSHING   37 attempts  173 yards   2 TD  (4.68 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      5 completions  13 attempts  1 INT 118 yards   1 TD  (no sacks of)                         
                        TOTAL YARDS:  291

                        KICKS:  XP  1 / 1                FG  1 / 1  (34 made)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  2 / 2
                         KICKOFFS:  5  (25,16,60,55,38)              PUNTS:  3  (39,45,38)
                        KO RETURNS:  4  (32,24,11,14)             PUNT RETURNS:  0
                             FIRST DOWNS:  16  (10 rushing, 4 passing, 2 penalty)
                        FUMBLES:  2, lost 0
                        PENALTIES:  7 / 52 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  24:06

RETURN TO THE STJ FOOTBALL 2002 HOMEPAGE