St. James scored 26 consecutive points in 7 minutes of game time, 10 of those in the last 26 seconds of the first half, and ovcrcame mistakes to defeat the Alabama Christian Eagles 32 - 19.

The Trojans started off 3 and out on their initial possession of the season, but appeared to be in business when Bruce Alter intercepted a James Wynn pass and returned it to the Eagle 42, but a roughing the passer penalty negated the interception.  ACA eventually punted, but socked the Trojans back at their own 9 yard line.  Two plays later, the Eagles garnered the first break of the game as Jacob Kelley intercepted a tipped pass and returned it to the Trojan 9.  Two plays later, B.J. Davis carried in from the 5 yard line and ACA had scored first.  The extra point attempt was blocked, but the Eagles were up by 6 with over 4 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

St. James made no first down on either of their next two possessions, but took over after an endzone punt at their own 20 midway through the second quarter.  However, it was again the ACA defense as Marty Adams picked up a wayward pass and returned it to his own 49 yard line.  Seven plays and 51 yards later, the Eagles were in the endzone again on another touchdown run by Davis, this time a 27 yard misdirection play which completely fooled the Trojan secondary.  A two point run conversion was stopped, but it appeared the Eagles had all the momentum they needed with only 33.6 seconds remaining in the first half and a 12 - 0 lead.

Not so fast!  Bruce Alter received the short Eagle kickoff at the 21 yard line and charged down the Eagle sideline, breaking two tackles just inside midfield, and darted into the endzone for a kick return touchdown.  Graham Sutter's extra point was true, and the lead was quickly cut to 5, 12-7, with 26.4 seconds remaining.  However, the first half scoring was not complete.  The Trojans attempted and recovered an onside kick at the Eagle 45.  A first down 19 yard pass from Will Martin to Jeff Cowden gave the Trojans a first down, and after a time out and an incomplete pass in the endzone, Graham Sutter came on to boot what tied as the second longest field goal in Trojan history, a 42 yarder, as time expired.  St. James fans were delirious as they had scored 10 points in 26 seconds of game time and were back in the contest.

The Trojans kept the momentum in the third quarter.  Despite a 33 yard kickoff return by Dee Gibbs, the Eagles had to punt without making a first down.  From their own 17, the Trojans traveled 83 yards in 7 plays.  A 5 yard run by Jeremy Crider was followed by a tough 23 yard run by Alter where he broke several tackles.  Taylor Thompson caught a 3 yard pass on his first touch of the game, and then Jeff Cowden broke a screen pass for 41 yards down to the ACA 11.  Crider ran for 3 and Martin ran for 4 leading to a 3rd and 3 at the 4.  Martin kept the ball, and bobbled it, but picked it up and on the broken play managed to squirm just into the endzone for a touchdown for St. James's first lead of 4 points.  The Trojans opted to go for 2, and Martin completed a nice pass just across the goal line near the far sideline to Nathan Newton.  The 2 point conversion raised the lead to 18 - 12.

The momentum continued as the Trojans' Blaine Joyner recovered a muffed kickoff at the Eagle 19.  Four plays later, St. James scored again as Bruce Alter ran in from 7 yards.  The Trojans tried another 2 point conversion, and Will Martin's pass to Taylor Thompson was good, boosting the Trojan lead to 14, at 26 - 12, with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter.

The Trojans again stopped ACA on their next drive, but the Eagles intercepted their third pass of the night and it led directly to their third touchdown.  Dee Gibbs perfectly read a screen pass and darted in front of the receiver, picking the ball off at the Trojan 31 and returning it to the endzone.  Matt Strouse's extra point was good, and the Eagles had cut the Trojan lead to 7, at 26 - 19, with still over 14 minutes remaining in the game.

St. James kept the ball for almost 5 minutes and drove as close as the ACA 16, but a Sutter field goal attempt of 34 yards hooked just wide.  The Eagles marched into Trojan territory and had a first down at the St. James 26.  However, a penalty and a fumbled snap led to a fourth and 15, where Trojan Hanley Funderburk blitzed and sacked James Wynn for a 12 yard loss and a possession turnover on loss of downs.  St. James only gained 2 yards, but Sutter booted a 52 yard punt which was downed at the Eagle 3.  ACA picked up one first down, but several plays later, Bruce Alter, playing more extensively on defense than expected, picked off a Wynn pass and returned it 28 yards back to the Eagle 3, where two plays later Jeremy Crider scored on a 1 yard run.  Sutter's extra point hit the upright, but the Trojans appeared to have a safe lead at 32 - 19 with only 75 seconds remaining.

Jeff Cowden intercepted a deep desperation pass to end the Eagles' final scoring opportunity, and St. James perhaps exacted revenge for the defeat by the Eagles at the beginning of the 2004 season as they readied for region play to begin.

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SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME ONE

ST. JAMES      RUSHING   36 attempts  130 yards  3 TDs  (3.61 yards per carry)

                        22   Alter         7 / 55  (1 TD)            10   Crider        13 / 44   (1 TD)
                          3   Martin     15 / 26  (1 TD)             5   Cowden       1 /  5

                        PASSING   6 completions  14 attempts  3 INTs  86 yards  0 TDs  (1 sack of, - 6 yards)

                          3   Martin        6 - 14 - 3   86 yards  0 TDs   (1 sack, - 6 yards)

                        RECEIVING

                          5   Cowden          5 / 83                    2   Thompson       1 /  3

                        TOTAL YARDS:   216

                        KICKS:  XP  1 / 2                FG  1 / 2    (42 made, 34 missed)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  2 / 2
                        KICKOFFS:  5  (15,52,52,50,60EZ)            PUNTS:  4  (40,39,26,52)
                        KO RETURNS:  4  (19,11,79TD,11)           PUNT RETURNS:   2  (5,0f)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   12    (9 rushing, 3 passing)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  2  (29, 0)
                        FUMBLES:  3, lost 1
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   - 2
                        PENALTIES:  3 / 35 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  22:01

ACA                 RUSHING   33 attempts  101 yards   2 TDs  (3.06 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      9 completions  16 attempts  2 INTs  69 yards  0 TDs  (2 sacks of, - 20 yards)
                        TOTAL YARDS:  170

                        KICKS:  XP  1 / 2                FG  0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 1
                        KICKOFFS:  4 (40,39,39,38)                      PUNTS:  6  (26,46,35EZ,41,28,34)
                        KO RETURNS:  2  (33,11f,14)                   PUNT RETURNS:  1  (13)
                        FIRST DOWNS:  11   (6 rushing, 3 passing, 2 penalty)
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  3  (19,13,31TD)
                        FUMBLES:  4, lost 1
                        PENALTIES:  4 / 20 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  25:59

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