SCORING SUMMARY:
St. James scored ten
points in just over two minutes sandwiched between demonstrative Monroe
County drives
of 19 and 18 plays which ate up nearly the entire second half, and
withstood a late rally after an onside kick recovery as the Trojans
ended the Tigers' season for
the second year in a row with a 24 - 20 victory.
The Trojans sped down the
field with ease on their first drive. After a defensive penalty
and a short run, Tyler Murphy found Taylor Thompson for 6 yards, Nathan
Newton for 16 yards, and then lobbed a pass to the endzone which
Thompson outdueled his shorter defender and caught for a 39 yard
touchdown. Graham Sutter's extra point was good and St. James had
a 7 - 0 lead less than 2 minutes into the game.
The next four drives were
fruitless, ending up in punts, and three of the four punts were
deflected as the respective punt rushing teams were just inches away
from backwards blocks. The Tigers started their third drive at
midfield, and drove as far as the St. James 11, but on a fourth down
attempt as the ball was handed off, the Trojan rushers grabbed the
runner and he tried a desperation pass to the endzone which was
incomplete and ruled as intentional grounding, ending the drive.
An offensive pass interference penalty interrupted the Trojan march,
and the Tigers took over at the St. James 43. This time they
would not be denied, as on the fourth play, Terrell Richardson broke
two tackles at the line of scrimmage and benefitted from downfield
blocking to take the ball in from 29 yards out. The extra point
snap was bobbled and the holder was eventually tackled trying to regain
control, so the Trojans held a shaky lead at 7 - 6.
After each team went 3 and
out, the Trojans had the ball on the Tiger 48. Two plays later
from the 37, Murphy fired a pass over the middle to Thompson who was
chased down inside the 10 yard line and the ball was stripped away as
several players for both teams tried to dive on it. Finally, it
was recovered in the endzone by a Monroe County player for a touchback,
and yet another turnover had stopped a deep St. James threat.
Monroe County converted two first downs, but had to punt again, and
with 46.2 seconds left in the half, St. James had the ball on its own
38. Three plays netted 10 yards and a first down. Murphy
tossed a pass over the middle to Bruce Alter who was slammed hard but
managed to hold on somehow for the catch at the Tiger 35. After a
time out, Murphy dropped back and found Matt Ward on the near sidelines
who reeled in the pass at the 15 yard line and dodged an onrushing
defender, sneaking just into the endzone while staying in bounds for a
touchdown with less than 5 seconds remaining in the half.
Sutter's extra point gave the Trojans huge momentum and an 8 point lead
as the teams sped into the warmer locker rooms.
In the second half, the
Tigers came out with two drives which would have made many old school
coaches deliriously happy. From their own 21, the Tigers
controlled the ball for over 10 minutes on a 19 play drive consisting
of 18 runs, one offensive penalty play, and one incomplete pass.
The longest runs were of 10 yards, and each of five first downs were
converted on a third down situation. Finally, from the Trojan 2,
quarterback Watson Black called his own number for the touchdown.
Being down by 2, and bathing in the success of the running game, Black
virtually duplicated the touchdown play again for a two point
conversion, the first successful two point attempt against St. James
this season, and the score was tied at 14 with less than 2 minutes
remaining in the third quarter and the Trojan offense yet to be seen in
the second half.
In contrast to a 19 play
10 minute drive, St. James scored much quicker. A Tiger onside
kick attempt was recovered by Newton at the Trojan 42. After a 5
yard penalty and an incomplete pass, Murphy found Ward again, this time
down the left (far) sideline, on a play basically the reverse image of
the previous touchdown. He caught the ball at about the Tiger 30
and broke free from one tackle, outracing defenders to the endzone
again for a touchdown. This drive of 33 seconds was wrapped up
with another Sutter extra point, and St. James was back ahead by 7.
After weeks of frustration
with turnover problems, the Trojans finally were the benefit of a
crucial one. Missing out on three chances earlier in the game to
recover Tiger fumbles but unable to do so, the Trojans ripped the ball
from the Tiger kick returner and Michael Stabler fell on it at the
Monroe 33. Several plays later John Enslen caught a Murphy pass
for 18 yards and a first down just outside the 10. However, a
fumbled snap and a sack pushed the ball back, but a defensive pass
interference penalty on the opening play of the fourth quarter gave the
Trojans a second chance. Three plays netted minus three yards,
and Sutter was called in to convert a 32 yard field goal, which he did,
giving St. James a 10 point lead with exactly 11 minutes to go in the
game.
Monroe County came out and
virtually duplicated their previous second half drive. This drive
of 18 plays had 6 first downs, including a key fourth down conversion
at the Trojan 29. Taylor Anderson eventually took the ball in
from the 2 yard line. Monroe County decided to go for the single
extra point despite their rushing success, but the kick was blocked,
and the lead remained at 4 with only 3:19 remaining in the game.
The Tigers had used two of their time outs during the drive, and they
opted for another onside kick. This time the ball bounced off a
Trojan upman and was recovered by the Tigers at their own 47 and they
had late life. A holding penalty on the first play pushed the
ball back 10 yards, and then a halfback pass attempt was thrown short
and intercepted by Taylor Thompson, who returned it into Tiger
territory. The Trojans needed a first down to run the clock out,
but gained only 8 yards on 3 plays. On fourth and 2 from the
Tiger 39, St. James dismissed a punt opportunity and risked going for
the first down. Murphy kept the ball up the middle on almost a
quick snap and made the first down by a measured length of the
football. With less than a minute remaining, the Trojans did run
out the clock and celebrated a victory heading into playoffs in a game
where the offense was on the field barely a quarter of the playing time.
GAME TEN
SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST.
JAMES
RUSHING 18 attempts 34 yards 0 TDs (1.89
yards per carry)
9
Murphy 14 / 26
19 Newton 1 /
5 30
Ward 3 / 3
PASSING 10 completions 23 attempts 0 INTs 229 yards 3 TDs (1 sack of, 4 yards)
9
Murphy 10 - 23 - 0 229
yards 3 TDs (1 sack, - 4 yards)
RECEIVING
30
Ward 2 / 98
(2 TDs) 2 Thompson 4 /
79 (1 TD) 22
Alter 2 / 18
14 Enslen 1
/ 18
19
Newton 1 / 16
TOTAL YARDS: 263
KICKS: XP 3 / 3
FG 1 /
1 (32 made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5 (55,13,54,44,52)
PUNTS: 4 (14,8,29,32)
KO RETURNS: 4 (20,32,0,0f)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (13,4)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS:
1 (4)
FIRST DOWNS: 12 (4 rushing, 7 passing, 1
penalty)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 2
TURNOVER MARGIN: 0
PENALTIES: 5 / 44 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 12:39 (all-time record low)
MONROE
CO. RUSHING 62 attempts 308 yards (4.97
yards per carry)
PASSING 9 attempts 0 completions
1
intercepted 0 yards (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 308