GAME 1: @ Alabama Christian 24, St. James 17

STJ 7 0 7 3 17

ACA 7 10 0 7 24

SCORING SUMMARY:

STJ (1) 4:12   Alter 5 pass from Murphy                                          (Sutter kick)       7 -   0
ACA (1)    0:24   Garner 1 run                                                              (Lange kick)       7 -   7
ACA (2) 0:37   Hughes 30 pass from Garner                                      (Lange kick)       7 - 14
ACA (2)    0:04   Lange 30 FG                                                                                             7 - 17
STJ   (3)    0:57   Murphy 1 run                                                            (Sutter kick)     14 - 17
ACA (4) 11:55   Daniel 2 run                                                                 (Lange kick)      14 - 24
STJ   (4)    5:57   Sutter 28 FG                                                                                       17 - 24

August 27, 2004. Wade Black Norton Memorial Field. 7 PM Clear, hot, humid. Game temperature: 91 Light if any wind.

St. James scored early but could not hold a lead, then Alabama Christian built up a lead they had trouble holding on to, but managed to despite several mistakes as the Trojans lost their season opener for the first time since 2000 (Opp) and ended a 7 game winning streak against the Eagles as ACA triumphed 24 - 17.

St. James started at their own 20 on the opening drive, as they did after every Eagle kickoff which reached the endzone. Matt Ward and Tyler Murphy ran for all the yardage, 75 yards worth, but the drive sputtered at the 5, and a 23 yard field goal attempt from the far left was wide left.

The Trojan defense held ACA to 3 carries of -1 net yard, and three or four Trojans broke through to block the punt and recover on the Eagle 6. On second down, Tyler Murphy connected with Bruce Alter on a 5 yard touchdown pass across the middle, and Graham Sutter's extra point gave the Trojans a 7 - 0 lead.

On the next drive, what could have been the play of the game didn't happen. On second down, a quarterback fumble was recovered by St. James inside the Eagle 30, but the referees claimed an inadvertent whistle stopped the play, and the play itself was replayed. This gave the Eagles new life, and they marched down the field. The key play was a fourth down and four run of 24 yards by Brian Daughety, to the Trojan 10. On the next play, quarterback David Garner kept on a fake and misdirection and rumbled 10 yards into the endzone. Cody Lange added a booming extra point, and the game was tied at 7 late in the first quarter.

The next four drives were short and ended in punts as the defenses held their own. However, St. James began moving down the field as Alter caught a 27 yard pass and run, and Peter Krothapalli picked up 14 on his first carry of the game and season. On second down from the Eagle 18, a pass reception turned into a fumble and ACA took over on their own 15. Daughety had runs of 15, 14, and 12 yards, each for first downs, and Allen Daniel added his own 11 yard run. From the Trojan 30, Garner lifted a pass down the middle to an open Ryan Little for a touchdown, and Lange's kick with 37 seconds remaining in the half gave the Eagles their first lead at 14 - 7.

It would not be their last score of the half. As St. James was trying to drive for a late score, a fumble recovery on a sack gave ACA a first down at the Trojan 21 with
21 seconds remaining. A defensive pass interference penalty aided the short yardage drive, and Lange lined up and converted a 30 yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining to give ACA a huge momentum boost and a 10 point lead at halftime.

Neither team made much headway on their initial second half drives, but on their second drive ACA moved the ball exclusively on the ground down to the Trojan 18, where another field goal was attempted. The Trojan line rushed and blocked their second kick of the night as the ball traveled backwards to the 40 yard line. A sack and an incomplete pass seemed to stop the Trojans, but on the punt which followed the ACA returner was hit hard, and St. James recovered the ensuing fumble at the Eagle 33. From there, the Trojans would not be denied. Krothapalli picked up 19 on a third and 9, Murphy ran for 6, passed to Jeff Cowden just short of the goal line, and took the ball in himself from the half yard line. Sutter's extra point had the Trojans back within 3 at 14 - 17 late in the third quarter. It would not stay that way long.

On the first play after a kickoff return to the Eagle 29, Garner called his own number, went wide, and raced down the sidelines until he was finally tackled at the Trojan 4.
Two plays after the 67 yard jaunt, on the first play of the final quarter, Allen Daniel carried in from the 2 and the lead was back to 10, at 24 - 14.

St. James did not make a first down on their next drive, and the Eagles appeared to be driving for another touchdown when the Trojan rushers forced another fumble backwards from the Trojan 18. Matt Ward picked up the ball and returned it to the 37. His 22 yard run and three completed passes by Murphy of 11, 14, and 15 yards were the key plays on the following series. A holding penalty eventually forced a Trojan field goal attempt, which Sutter converted from 28 yards, and the lead was back to a catchable 7 points with still nearly half of the final quarter remaining.

After a big kickoff return by Drew Hughes, the Trojans managed to stop the Eagles, but a long punt pushed the ball down to the 10 and a penalty even further back to the 5.
Murphy connected with Taylor Thompson on a 31 yard reception, the longest scrimmage play of the night for the Trojans, giving them a first down at their 36. However, two plays later, a sack and fumble gave the ball back to the Eagles deep in Trojan territory. ACA got as close as the Trojan 14 before trying a field goal which went wide left, but they were given a second chance on a running into the kicker penalty. The shorter 26 yard field goal was wide left also, and St. James had a longshot chance left to
traverse 80 yards in 51 seconds. However, on fourth down, a desperation pass was tipped and intercepted by Peyton Kelly, and ACA ran out the clock with their first
defeat over St. James since 1997.

GAME ONE SIDELINE STATISTICS:

ST. JAMES RUSHING 31 attempts 112 yards 1 TD (3.61 yards per carry)

30 Ward 13 / 86 44 Krothapalli 5 / 39 9 Murphy 13 / - 13 (1 TD)

PASSING 12 completions 34 attempts 1 INT 143 yards 1 TD (4 sacks of, - 42 yards)

9 Murphy 12 - 34 - 1 143 yards 1 TD (4 sacks, - 42 yards)

RECEIVING

2 Thompson 5 / 71 5 Cowden 5 / 40 22 Alter 2 / 32 (1 TD)

TOTAL YARDS: 255

                        KICKS: XP 2 / 2 FG 1 / 2    (28 made, 23 missed)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS: 4 (53,48,45,56)         PUNTS: 5 (21,18,49,26,21)
                        KO RETURNS: 0                         PUNT RETURNS:   3 (0,5,9)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   17    (8 rushing, 7 passing, 2 penalty)
                        FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (7)
    BLOCKED KICK RETURNS: 2 (6, 14)
                        FUMBLES: 4, lost 3
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   - 2
                        PENALTIES: 9 / 62 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION: 21:15

ACA                RUSHING   46 attempts 271 yards 2 TDs (5.89 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      4 completions 11 attempts 0 INTs 48 yards 1 TD (1 sack of, - 3 yards)
                        TOTAL YARDS: 319

                        KICKS: XP 3 / 3                FG 1 / 3   (30 made, 34 blocked, 26 missed)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5 (all EZ)    PUNTS: 5 (blk,38,39,43,45)
                        KO RETURNS: 4 (17,22,14,35)                PUNT RETURNS: 2 (18,0f)
                        FIRST DOWNS: 15 (13 rushing, 2 passing)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURN: 1 (6)
                        FUMBLES: 3, lost 2
                        PENALTIES: 6 / 40 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:45

RETURN TO THE 2004 SAINT JAMES FOOTBALL PAGE