GAME 4: @ Geneva 13, St. James 6

STJ 0 3 3 0 6

GEN 0 6 0 7 13

SCORING SUMMARY:

STJ    (2) 10:44   Sutter 23 FG                                                   3 - 0
GEN (2)    2:46   Brownell 3 run                           (kick blocked)   3 - 6
STJ    (3)    7:30   Sutter 35 FG                                                       6 - 6
GEN (4) 10:28   Scott 46 run                          (Strickland kick) 6 - 13

September 16, 2005. 7:00 PM Hugh Owen Memorial Stadium, Geneva. Game Conditions: Partly cloudy Game Temperature: 83 Wind light

Geneva celebrated their 2005 Homecoming with touchdowns resulting directly or indirectly from two long yardage plays, while holding St. James out of the endzone despite several early opportunities, as the sixth-ranked Panthers earned a hard-fought 13 - 6 home win over the Trojans.

St. James earned one first down on their initial drive of the game, as did Geneva before losing a fumble. Neither team did much on their respective second drives, but on the Trojans' third drive they moved down the field on a 13 play effort. A 22 yard pass from Will Martin to Jeff Cowden was the big play. St. James got as close as the Panther 5, but two consecutive losses pushed the ball back and a field goal attempt was wide right.

Geneva promptly gave the Trojans a second chance as Taylor Thompson picked off a Ryan Strickland pass and returned it to the Panther 15. St. James this time got as close as the 6, but the Geneva defense stiffened again. This time, Graham Sutter converted on a 23 yard field goal, and the Trojans were up 3 - 0 early in the second quarter.

Bruce Alter intercepted a Jake Helms pass 9 plays into the next Geneva drive, stifling another potential Panther threat. The teams traded punts as the defenses continued to shine. However, Geneva picked up its first turnover on an interception by Martel Myhand on a deep pass attempt. He returned the ball 40 yards to the Trojan 43. On first down, Strickland completed a pass over the middle to a wide open Ryan Aycock, and he ran down the middle to the 3 yard line. This was the first completed pass of positive yardage the Trojans had allowed in 10 quarters. On the next play, Josh Brownell took the handoff and battled into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. However, the Trojan defenders regrouped to block the extra point, keeping the score at 6 - 3 Geneva late in the first half.

Each team made first downs in the few minutes remaining, but did not threaten to score for the remainder of the second quarter. Two offensive penalties on Geneva stalled their opening drive of the third quarter, and the Trojans took over after a punt at their own 40. Two plays later, a 31 yard catch and run by Thompson moved the ball down to the Geneva 28. Three plays netted nine yards, and Sutter was called on again to kick a field goal, which he did from 35 yards out, tying the score at 6.

After a Geneva punt, the Trojans were driving again with first downs on a Thompson 12 yard reception, and a pair of runs by Jeremy Crider. However, a penalty slowed the drive and a Sutter punt and short return gave Geneva the ball at their own 14 late in the third quarter. A Justin Free pass reception on third and nine on the last play of the quarter gave Geneva a key first down. After calling two consecutive time outs before fourth quarter play started, Michael Scott ran for 13 yards, Strickland kept for 7, and Brownell for 6 for another first down at the Trojan 46. After a no gain play, Scott took a handoff straight up the middle, escaped two potential tacklers at the line of scrimmage, and broke free into the secondary, outracing the defenders for a Panther touchdown. This time Strickland converted his extra point, and Geneva was up 13 - 6 with most of the final quarter remaining.

The Trojans had the ball three more times, but poor field position led to drives starting at their own 16, 3, and 21 respectively, and St. James could not pick up a first down on any of the drives. One first down completion on a pass to Chase Christian was negated because the pass was thrown beyond the line of scrimmage. Geneva ran enough clock and forced St. James to use timeouts, and was able to run out the clock in their red zone to seal the region victory.

SIDELINE STATISTICS: GAME FOUR

ST. JAMES RUSHING 29 attempts 40 yards 0 TDs (1.38 yards per carry)

10 Crider 9 / 20 3 Martin 18 / 13 22 Alter 2 / 7

PASSING 12 completions 25 attempts 1 INT 126 yards 0 TDs (3 sacks of, - 23 yards)

3 Martin 12 - 25 - 1 126 yards 0 TDs (3 sacks, - 23)

RECEIVING

2 Thompson 6 / 78 5 Cowden 4 / 45 32 Christian 1 / 3
22 Alter 1 / 0

TOTAL YARDS: 166

                        KICKS: XP 0 / 0 FG 2 / 3    (23,35 made, 33 missed)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS: 3 (59,56,57)    PUNTS: 7 (34,38,37,35,41,49,45)
                        KO RETURNS: 3 (19,13,12)             PUNT RETURNS:   4 (11,0fc,3,10)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   7    (2 rushing, 5 passing)
                        FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   + 2
                        PENALTIES: 5 / 35 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION: 24:12

GENEVA    RUSHING   47 attempts 219 yards   2 TDs (4.66 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      5 completions 10 attempts 2 INTs 44 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
                        TOTAL YARDS: 263

                        KICKS: XP 1 / 2                FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 3 (59,58,56)       PUNTS: 7 (28,34,38,27,40,32,27)
                        KO RETURNS: 3 (5,21,26)                       PUNT RETURNS: 7 (12,11,13,0,9,9,13)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   14 (12 rushing, 1 passing, 1 penalty)
                        FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
                        PENALTIES: 5 / 32 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:48

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