The #1 ranked Trinity
Wildcats
scored three consecutive second half touchdowns, overcoming a 10 point
halftime deficit and two
extended delays because of lights going out at Boykin Field, as they
continued all of their existing winning streaks with a 35 - 24 victory
over St.
James.
If the teams and fans were not hyped enough at the beginning of the
game, two plays into the game they were. Just after Drew Hoover
ran for a St. James first down on the first scrimmage play, the
overhead lights suddenly went out on the St. James side. After a
15 minute delay, the lights were back up and the Trojans kept driving
down the field. Matt Ward converted two third and six
opportunities with a 17 yard run and an 11 yard catch of a Tyler Murphy
pass. An 11 yard catch by Taylor Thompson gave the Trojans a
first down at the Trinity 8, but a penalty stalled the drive and Graham
Sutter was called in later to kick a 23 yard field goal, which he did,
and the Trojans were up early 3 - 0.
Trinity retaliated quickly. Taylor Hoyt carried on the first play
of the drive for 10 yards, and 7 plays later, he broke loose down the
Wildcat sidelines for a 37 yard touchdown. Tim Trudel, who was
five of five on extra point attempts, converted his first to give
Trinity a 7 - 3 lead. St. James would answer almost as
quickly. A pass from Murphy to Thompson for 32 yards gave the
Trojans first down at the 19. Despite illegal man downfield and
offensive holding penalties, Murphy lofted a pass to John Enslen in the
back corner of the endzone for a touchdown. Sutter, who was
also perfect on his 3 extra point attempts, gave the Trojans the lead
back at 10 - 7 with still 64 seconds left in the first quarter.
Trinity drove just into Trojan territory, but quarterback Rory McKean
was sacked and fumbled with Trinity recovering after an 18 yard loss,
forcing a punt. However, five plays later, Austin Hoyt picked off
a several-times deflected pass for the first turnover of the game at
the Trojan 42. McKean sought and found Tommy Trott down the
middle on the next play for a 26 yard completion, and then tossed a
pass to Hoyt on the following play for a 32 yard touchdown.
Trudel's kick pushed the lead back to 4 for the Wildcats, at 14 - 10.
The Trojans appeared to be in deep trouble on the next drive as a sack
and an intentional grounding penalty pushed the ball back to the 3 yard
line. However, a defensive interference penalty wiped out a
desperation second and 26 situation. On the next play, Bruce
Alter ran for 6 yards and was hit out of bounds for another 15 yard
penalty. A discussion ensued, and just as another flag was thrown
on a Trinity player for unsportsmanlike conduct, the lights went out
again on the St. James sideline, much to the dismay of especially the
Trojan supporters. After a longer delay than the first, St. James
continued their drive from the Wildcat 47. Consecutive passes to
Thompson for 16 yards and an almost duplicate pass to Enslen went for
31 yards and another touchdown. The extra point put St. James
back up by 3 midway through the second quarter.
Trinity could not convert a first down after a sizeable kickoff return,
and boomed a punt through the endzone. St. James could not
convert a first down, but Brian Wright's booming punt was muffed and
fallen on by Nathan Newton at the Wildcat 33, giving St. James another
chance to score before halftime. Thompson caught a key 8 yard
pass on third and 6, and two plays later Murphy may have thrown his
most beautiful pass of the season between two defenders into Thompson's
outstretched arms and he ran into the endzone for a third touchdown
pass of the half. Sutter's kick gave the Trojans a 24 - 14 lead.
On the next drive, Trinity executed a fake punt brilliantly with Zack
Shaw taking a direct snap and carrying for 24 yards to the Trojan
31. However, after four consecutive incomplete passes, Trinity
turned the ball over and St. James ran out the clock with perhaps a
surprising double digit lead. Each team stopped the other on
their first series of the second half. The Wildcats scored on
their second possession. A 23 yard pass from McKean to Austin
Hoyt moved the ball down to the Trojan 12. A fumbled snap on the
next play nearly proved a disaster, but from the 17, McKean connected
with Hoyt again, for the fourth time in the game and the second time
for a touchdown. The kick cut the Trojans lead back to 3 midway
through the third quarter.
St. James converted one first down, but was forced to punt. The
punt was deflected toward the Wildcat sidelines, traveling only 15
yards. Trinity overcame a holding penalty and a near interception
by Thompson which would have been almost a certain touchdown return
before punting deep into Trojan territory. St. James again picked
up a first down on another Thompson reception, but punted as
well. Trinity was stuffed and forced to punt again. St.
James picked up two first downs and was near midfield but the drive
stalled again. The punt snap sailed over Brian Wright's head and
he rushed back to pick up the ball and attempt a desperation punt,
which was smothered and fallen on by Trinity's Ed McBrayer at the
Trojan 12 yard line. A costly mistake, as on the next play the
ball was handed off to Trott in the backfield and he carried several
tacklers at least 5 yards into the endzone, giving Trinity the lead for
good at 28 - 24 with 8:35 remaining in the game.
On St. James' next drive, a sack and a fumbled handoff unintentionally
kicked backwards led to a frightful fourth and 36 situation.
Despite intense pressure, Wright got the punt away but it traveled only
as far as the Trojan 33, and after four consecutive runs (Taylor Hoyt
for 14, Matthew Tapley for 4, McKean for 12, and Trott for 3), the
Wildcats were in the endzone again. The Trojans, now down by 11
and needing to score quickly, had their final two drives ended by Zack
Rolen and Tim Trudel interceptions, and Trinity remained undefeated
with their state-leading 23rd consecutive win and their 5th consecutive
over the Trojans in a 4 year period. Trinity sealed the Region 2
Championship with their win, but St. James was guaranteed its 14th
state consecutive playoff appearance thanks to results of other games,
and was still left with the possibility of finishing as high as second
in the region with a win the next week over the Geneva Panthers.
GAME EIGHT SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES
RUSHING 38 attempts 80 yards 0 TDs (2.11
yards per carry)
34 Hoover 7 /
45
9
Murphy 17 /
41 30
Ward 4 / 35
22
Alter
5 / 15 2
Thompson 4 /
- 25 15
Wright 1 / - 31
PASSING 19 completions 38 attempts 3 INTs
220 yards 3 TDs (2 sacks of, 21 yards)
9 Murphy 19 - 38 -
3 220 yards 3 TDs
RECEIVING
2 Thompson 10 /
117 (1
TD)
14
Enslen 3 /
68 (2 TDs)
22
Alter
3 /
18
30
Ward
3 / 17
TOTAL YARDS: 300
KICKS: XP 3 / 3
FG 1 / 1 (26 made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4 (58,53,55,52)
PUNTS: 5 (41,43,20,26,24)
KO RETURNS: 4 (10,22,17,13)
PUNT RETURNS: 1 (0fc)
FIRST DOWNS: 21 (8 rushing, 11 passing, 2 penalty)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 0
TURNOVER MARGIN: - 2
PENALTIES: 10 / 59 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:02
TRINITY
RUSHING 38 attempts 191 yards 3 TDs
(5.03 yards per carry)
PASSING 8 completions 23
attempts 0
INTs 157 yards 2 TDs (3 sacks of, 27 yards)
TOTAL YARDS: 348
KICKS: XP 5 / 5
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 6 (50,52,EZ,57,48,EZ)
PUNTS:
6 (37,62,48,32,50,25)
KO RETURNS: 4 (28,16,32,9)
PUNT RETURNS: 3 (0f,0fc,0fc)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 3 (0,0,0)
FIRST DOWNS: 20 (11 rushing, 8 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
PENALTIES: 7 / 83 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 21:58