The rigid Trinity defense held the
Trojans to less than 40 yards rushing and limited quarterback Brett
Gantt to one fourth
quarter touchdown pass, as the Wildcats scored on their first drive and
scored
two touchdowns later thanks in great part to well-timed and
well-executed reverse plays as they ended the St. James playoff run in
the quarterfinals with a 20-10 win at Boykin Field.
The game started inauspiciously for St. James as the first drive netted
minus 10 yards from the Trojan 20. After a punt, Trinity took
over
on the St. James 44 and scored four plays later. A Taylor Hoyt
carry
of 10 yards and a Rory McKean quarterback keeper for 26 moved the ball
down
to the 8. Two plays later, Hoyt carried in from the two and
Thomas
Hooper's extra point had the Wildcats on the board with a seven point
lead
less than three minutes into the game.
A good kickoff return by Matt Ward gave the Trojans decent field
position, but again they failed to convert a first down. Trinity,
however, could not convert either and after a punt St. James started a
drive on the Trinity 43. A third down pass from Gantt to Chris
Roberts for 26 yards gave St. James their initial first down of the
game. Another third down pass
was converted, and on third and goal from the 7, a Gantt pass to Tyler
Murphy
came up only about four feet short of the goal line. St. James
opted
for the field goal, and Will Stansfield converted his sixth straight
attempt,
this one from 19 yards, cutting the Trinity lead to four, still in the
first
quarter.
The defenses shone the remainder of the first half. On each
team's next drives, no first downs were converted. McKean ran for
two first downs on the ensuing Trinity drive, but the Wildcats could
only get as close as the Trojan 31 before a punt. St. James was
three and out and a short punt gave Trinity the ball back at the Trojan
29. Soon thereafter, the
first two of only three turnovers in the game took place. Trojan
Matt
Ward intercepted a McKean pass at the 9 yard line and returned it to
the
22. After a Gantt completion to Taylor Nelson for a first down, a
second
pass was completed to Roberts, but he was hit after the catch and
fumbled
and Trinity recovered on the Trojan 39 midway through the second
quarter.
Each team traded punts again as the defenses were hanging tight.
However, Trinity was winning the field position battle as they
took over on the Trojan 31 with just over 3 minutes remaining in the
half. A McKean pass to Jack Bartlett moved the ball down to the
Trojan 13, but three plays could only net one yard. Trinity
attempted a field goal from 29 yards which hit the right upright and
boinked harmlessly away. With barely a minute remaining in the
half, St. James simply ran the clock out only four points behind.
Trinity regained the momentum quickly on a four play 65 yard drive.
Coleman Farrior picked up 43 yards on the first scrimmage play on
a counter reverse. Three plays later, McKean lofted a pass to
Tommy Trott which he caught at the 10 and carried a tackler into the
endzone for a quick touchdown and an 11 point lead. St. James
drove into Wildcat territory on the next drive but a punt went into the
endzone. Trinity drove from their own 20 to the Trojan 31 before
a sack ended the drive, and the next punt was downed
nicely at the Trojan 1. From there, St. James made two first
downs
but again had to punt, as did Trinity at the start of the fourth
quarter. Perhaps the key defensive play of the game was a nice
one handed interception by Wildcat Matthew Massey on a tipped pass at
the Trojan 46. From there, Taylor Hoyt handed off on the first
play to Austin Hoyt on a reverse, and he cruised 46 yards into the
endzone on a one-play-drive touchdown. The bobbled snap was
picked up and the extra point run failed, but Trinity had a seemingly
safe 17 point lead with under 10 minutes remaining in the contest.
The St. James pass offense got in gear in the fourth quarter, with
Gantt completing 13 of his last 18 pass attempts, mostly of the shorter
variety. Several long passes moved the ball down field but the
Trojans could only pick up five on a fourth and six from the Trinity
26. After a Wildcat
three and out, St. James drove again but was stopped two yards short on
fourth
down at the Trinity 15. After another Trinity three and out, St.
James
finally found the endzone on a fine pass from Gantt to Taylor Nelson,
who
juggled the ball away from two potential defenders at the 3 and walked
into
the endzone for a 25 yard touchdown reception. The Stansfield
extra
point cut the lead to 10 with only 2:11 remaining in the game. An
onside
kick attempt failed, and after picking up a first down on a penalty,
there
was just enough time for Trinity to run out the clock and claim the
quarterfinal
victory, ending arguably the greatest season in St. James Trojan
football
history.
GAME THIRTEEN SIDELINE
STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES
RUSHING
19 attempts 39 yards 0 TDs (2.05 yards per carry)
42 Brewer 9 / 20
10 Gantt 9 / 20 30
Ward 4 / - 1
PASSING 27 completions 42 attempts 1
INT
248 yards 1 TD (no sacks of)
10 Gantt
27 - 42 - 1 248 yards 1 TD
RECEIVING
6 Roberts 10 / 85
3 Nelson 7 / 83
(1
TD)
9 Murphy 5 / 41
30 Ward 5 / 39
TOTAL YARDS: 287
KICKS: XP 1 /
1
FG 1 / 1 (19 made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 3 (OB,OB,14)
PUNTS: 7 (34,41,29,23,25,48,39)
KO RETURNS: 3 (16,29,5)
PUNT RETURNS: 4 (0fc,0fc,0fc,0fc)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (13)
FIRST DOWNS: 13 (3 rushing, 10 passing)
FUMBLES: 1, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN: - 1
PENALTIES: 3 / 30 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 24:51
TRINITY
RUSHING 39 attempts 226 yards 2 TDs
(5.79 yards per carry)
PASSING 6 completions 19
attempts 1 INT 76 yards 1 TD (3 sacks of, - 16
yards)
TOTAL YARDS: 302
KICKS: XP 2 / 3
FG 0 / 1 (29 missed)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4 (56,46,EZ,58)
PUNTS: 8 (26,40,24,34,32,28,32,26)
KO RETURNS: 1 (0)
PUNT
RETURNS: 1 (7)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
FIRST DOWNS: 15 (10 rushing, 4 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 0
PENALTIES: 1 / 5 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:09