GAME 3: ST. JAMES 20, @
Ashford 17
STJ
7 6 0
7
20
ASH
7 7
3 0
17
SCORING SUMMARY:
STJ (1) 9:16 Alter 26
pass from
Murphy
(Sutter kick) 7
- 0
ASH (1) 1:59 Melton 28 run
(Kight
kick) 7
- 7
STJ (2) 5:23 Ward 24 pass from
Murphy
(kick
failed) 13 - 7
ASH (2) 0:58 Melton 19 run
(Kight
kick) 13 - 14
ASH (3) 7:51 Kight 27 FG
13 - 17
STJ (4) 9:28 Burke 23 pass from
Murphy
(Sutter
kick) 20 - 17
September 10, 2004.
W.H. Brown Field. 7:30 PM Cloudy, muggy,
nearly foggy 76 degrees. Wind brief in second half NW
10
Tyler Murphy threw touchdown passes to three
different receivers, two of those on fourth down plays, and Matt Ward
blocked a potential game-tying field goal midway through the
fourth quarter as the Trojans held on for their second consecutive
regional victory, and their second consecutive defeat of the Yellow
Jackets in Ashford, in an exciting 20 - 17 win. This was
Ashford's
first home game since their first round playoff defeat by the Trojans
in November 2003.
St. James took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards. A 15 yard
reception by Charlie Gibson, a 14 yard run by Tyler Murphy, and a 15
yard run by Jeremy Crider gave the Trojans three consecutive first
downs and the ball on the Jacket 25. The drive sputtered after a
penalty, but on fourth down and 11 from the 26, Murphy found a wide
open Bruce Alter across the middle behind the defenders for a
touchdown. Graham Sutter's extra point gave the Trojans a quick
7 - 0 lead.
It was nearly at least 13 - 0 soon after. Ashford rushed for
several first downs, but on their first pass attempt, Taylor Thompson
made an incredible interception one-handed behind-the-back catch on a
tipped ball and broke several tackles during the return for an apparent
74 yard touchdown. However, a penalty brought the ball back to
the St. James 33, where the Trojans would later punt. This time
Ashford drove 51 yards for a touchdown. After a 19 yard pass completion
on third down, Reginald Melton, who ran for big yardage against the
Trojans in the 2003 playoff matchup and rushed for 153 yards on this
night, scored from 28 yards out, and the extra point tied the score at
7 with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter.
St. James punted again, and Ashford was driving again. From the
Trojan 20, a slant pass was attempted but Matt Ward read it well and
picked the ball off, returning it 46 yards before being tackled at the
Jacket 25. However, St. James returned the favor as Jonathan
Harris intercepted a pass at the 6. The Trojans held, and nearly
blocked the
ensuing punt, which traveled only 13 yards to the Jacket 24. On
first down, Murphy lifted a sideline pass to Ward, who whirled around a
potential tackler at the 10 and scooted into the endzone. On a
field which had been soaked just hours earlier from a flooding
rainstorm, Sutter slipped on his extra point attempt and it went wide,
but St. James still held a 6 point lead midway through the second
quarter.
Ashford answered with a touchdown drive on their own; the big play was
a 34 yard gain by Melton on third and 16. On the next play,
Melton scored from the 19. The extra point gave Ashford their
first lead of the night at 14-13 with less than a minute remaining in
the half. However, with 3 timeouts, St. James tried to move for
another score before the half. A muff on the kickoff return gave
the Trojans poor starting field position at the 13, but a 27 yard
completion to Alter, a 6 yard completion to Matt Burke, and two plays
later a 30 yard completion to Thompson had the ball on the Jacket 23
with 5 seconds remaining. However, an incomplete pass which
seemed to take four seconds took five on the clock, and the half was
declared over.
Ashford took the second half kickoff, and a 26 yard run by Melton and a
27 yard run by fullback Corderal Smith, who added 109 rushing yards of
his own, moved the ball down to the Trojan 22. After another
first down, the St. James defense stiffened, but Matt Kight connected
on a 27 yard field goal, giving Ashford a 4 point lead.
A chop block penalty on the next kickoff return pushed the ball back,
but St. James embarked on a time consuming drive which ate up almost
all of the third quarter clock. A 14 yard reception by Charlie
Gibson and a defensive offside penalty on a later fourth down kept the
drive alive. St. James got as close as the Jacket 5, but were
forced back. A Sutter 26 yard field goal was converted, but an
illegal motion penalty on the kick negated it. A second attempt
from 31 yards failed, and Ashford retained their lead.
The Jackets were then three and out, and a shanked punt gave the
Trojans the ball on the Ashford 41. Crider's 8 yard reception
gave St. James one first down, but the Trojans soon faced fourth down
from the 23. Murphy sought out and found Matt Burke on the far
sideline for a 23 yard touchdown pass as he escaped several
defenders. This time Sutter's extra point was good, and St. James
regained the lead at 20 - 17 with 9½ minutes remaining in the
game.
Ashford's next drive featured one of only three pass completions in the
game, a well-timed 35 yard bomb from Ryan Love to Nick Lee. Two
plays later, Smith carried for 16 yards and the ball was at the Trojan
14. The Jackets avoided disaster by recovering their own fumble
at the 9, but the drive stalled and Kight was called in for a tying
field goal. Matt Ward broke through the line and actually
blocked the kick with his underarm, and the ball rolled harmlessly to
the 16 yard line. With 6 minutes remaining, the Trojans tried to
run out the clock and had made three first downs and moved the ball
into Jacket territory. However, a fumble gave the ball back to
Ashford on their own 41 with 2:38 remaining in the game. Ashford,
which had used one time out prior to the blocked field goal, had to
waste another on second down. On fourth down from the 44, a
desperation pass fell short, and the Trojans took over with 1:18
remaining. However, with Ashford having only one time out
remaining, St. James could merely fall on the ball and run out the
clock, which they did, and they returned home from Ashford for the
second time in as many trips with a narrow but quite rewarding victory.
GAME THREE SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES
RUSHING 32 attempts 128 yards 0 TDs
(4.00
yards per carry)
10
Crider 16 /
82
9 Murphy
12 / 31
2
Thompson 1 / 9
30
Ward
3 / 6
PASSING 15 completions 23 attempts
1
INT 196 yards 3 TDs (no sacks of)
9 Murphy 15 - 22 - 1
196 yards 3 TDs
RECEIVING
22 Alter 3
/ 59 (1 TD)
2 Thompson 4 /
37 45
Gibson 3 / 35
88
Burke 2 / 29 (1
TD) 10
Crider
2 / 12
30
Ward
1 / 24 (1 TD)
TOTAL YARDS: 324
KICKS: XP 2 / 3
FG 0 / 1 (31 missed)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4 (55,45,42,50)
PUNTS:
2 (27,38)
KO RETURNS: 4
(12,33,7,31)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST DOWNS: 17 (9 rushing, 7 passing, 1
penalty)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 2 (7,46)
BLOCKED KICK RETURNS: 1 (3)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN: 0
PENALTIES: 6 / 55 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 21:55
ASHFORD
RUSHING 42 attempts 265 yards 2 TDs
(6.31 yards per carry)
PASSING 3 completions 8 attempts 2
INTs 58 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 323
KICKS: XP 2 /
2
FG 1 / 2 (27 made, 25 blocked)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4 (44,49,54,53)
PUNTS: 2 (13,16)
KO RETURNS: 4
(24,14,12,18)
PUNT RETURNS: 1 (10)
FIRST DOWNS: 17 (14 rushing, 2 passing, 1 penalty)
INTERCEPTION RETURN: 1 (3)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 0
PENALTIES: 5 / 25 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:05
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