2008 - GAME 4

Opp 38, Saint James 10

OPP 14 10 0 14 38

STJ 3 0 7 0 10

SCORING SUMMARY:

OPP (1)    6:54   R. Davis 10 run                           (Jones kick)       0 -   7
OPP (1)    6:36   Spears 33 pass from Austin         (Jones kick)       0 - 14
STJ   (1)    1:38   Weldon 27 FG                                                         3 - 14
OPP (2)    8:32   Jones 28 FG                                                            3 - 17
OPP (2)    2:55   Scarbrough 5 run                       (Jones kick)       3 - 24
STJ   (3)    4:31   Freeman 10 pass from Dean    (Weldon kick)     10 - 24
OPP (4) 10:13   Kincaid 2 run                              (Jones kick)     10 - 31
OPP (4)    3:54   D. Davis 2 run                           (Jones kick)     10 - 38

Friday, September 19, 2008 Carlisle Field Game conditions: Mostly cloudy, cool, breezy Game temperature: 73 Wind: E 8 - 12

Saint James was down 14 points before they even had a chance to run an offensive play, and five different players scored touchdowns for Opp as the Bobcats cruised out of Montgomery with an easy 38 - 10 victory over the Trojans.

The Bobcats drove steadily down the field on their opening possession. The running back combination of Richard Davis, Quadir Kincaid, and Josh Scarbrough split 11 carries traversing 64 yards; Davis carried for the final 10 for the touchdown. Hunter Jones' first of five extra points gave the Bobcats an early 7 - 0 lead.

Apparently the Bobcats had been burned on kickoff returns earlier in the season, because each of their kickoffs except for one were of the squib variety. The first was fielded by Nick Ostrye, who was grabbed ten yards downfield and the ball was shaken loose. Opp recovered on the Trojan 33, and it took them only one play to score again. Quarterback Daniel Langford tossed backwards to Adrian Austin, who found Erwin Spears open at the goal line on a touchdown reception, and within less than 20 seconds, the Bobcats had dropped a quick 14 point bomb on the Trojans.

The Trojans responded with a fine drive. A quarterback sack was overcome by a nifty catch and run on a Matt Dean pass over the middle to Chase Eley which went for 45 yards down to the Opp 13. Chase Christian ran for 11 yards on the next play. However, as has been the case too often inside the 10 yard line, the Trojan offense sputtered. After a quarterback sneak picked up a yard, an illegal procedure penalty and a sack pushed the ball back to the 10. After an incomplete pass, B.J. Weldon was called on to kick a 27 yard field goal, which he converted, and the Trojans were on the scoreboard at 14 - 3.

Saint James stopped the Bobcats on the next drive, but on the Trojans' next drive, Josh Thompson intercepted a Dean pass and returned it to the Trojan 29. Opp moved as close as the Saint James 4, but a sack on third down forced Opp to counter with their own field goal attempt, converted by Jones, to rebuild their 14 point lead.

The Trojans failed to convert a first down, and then Opp drove 65 yards, overcoming two penalties. Kincaid runs of 33 and 19 yards sandwiched a 15 yard run by Davis. Three plays later, Josh Scarbrough carried in from five yards out, and the Bobcats were up 24 - 3 with nearly three minutes remaining in the half.

After a good kickoff return by Weldon, a 17 yard reception by Christian, and several good quarterback carries by Dean, the Trojans were threatening at the Opp 16. On first down, Dean lifted a pass to the back of the endzone to Christian who caught the ball in midair, but he landed several feet behind the endzone. Three more incompletions turned the ball over on downs with only 34 seconds remaining, but Opp picked up 39 yards on two quick carries and had half a second left to try and score again. A deep pass however was intercepted by Wade Norwood on the final play of the first half, and Saint James went to the locker room to try and regroup.

The Trojans came out with easily their best drive of the season, a steady 19 play drive which covered 63 yards. Norwood caught a 13 yard pass on third and 9 to keep the drive alive. A Brandyn Baker reception and a run by Clinton Freeman gave the Trojans a first down at the Opp 6 before a bizarre situation occurred. After two incomplete passes, a flag was thrown after the second play. After some discussion, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called on the Trojans and the ball was moved back 15 yards to the Opp 21. Then, a similar penalty was called on Opp. However, the officials could not mark the ball correctly. Apparently, the penalties were not simultaneous, so they did not offset. Finally, after some trial and error, the second penalty was enforced "half the distance", putting the ball just outside the Opp 10. After another incompletion and a Trojan timeout, the Trojans were finally rewarded. Matt Dean, with plenty of time to throw thanks to good protection, found Freeman over the middle just inside the endzone for a 10 yard touchdown. Weldon's kick cut the lead to 14 after the drive which ate up a majority of the third quarter.

Opp's responding drive ate up the rest of the third quarter and then some. Again, Richard Davis, Kincaid, and Scarbrough did most of the work. Devin Davis was brought in late in the drive, but it was Kincaid whose 13 yard run set up his own 2 yard touchdown. Jones' extra point pushed the lead back to a safe three touchdowns.

An interception by Spears gave the Bobcats the ball back, and the backups ran effectively down the field against the Trojans. Adrian Austin and Devin Davis were responsible for most of the carries, and Davis was rewarded with the final touchdown of the game with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Trojan backups, led by Lee Ketzler, moved the ball somewhat down the field, but turned the ball over on downs at the Bobcat 42, leaving Opp one play to run out the clock on their way to a third straight region victory.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME FOUR

SAINT JAMES RUSHING 25 attempts 77 yards 0 TDs (3.08 yards per carry)

32 Christian 5 / 28 30 Freeman 5 / 23 14 Dean 11 / 18
6 Ketzler 3 / 5 20 Slayton 1 / 3

PASSING 7 completions 25 attempts 2 INTs 113 yards 1 TD (4 sacks of, - 25 yards)

14 Dean 6 - 22 - 2 104 yards 1 TD (3 sacks, - 20 yards)
6 Ketzler 1 - 3 - 0 9 yards ( 1 sack, - 5 yards)

RECEIVING

4 Eley 1 / 45 32 Christian 2 / 28 9 Norwood 1 / 13
30 Freeman 1 / 10 (TD) 88 Brantley 1 / 9 45 Baker 1 / 8

TOTAL YARDS: 190

                          KICKS: XP 1 / 1                FG 1 / 1   (27 made)
                          2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                          KICKOFFS:   3 (49,45,48)       PUNTS:   1 (20)
                          KO RETURNS:   7 (11f,10,11,20,16,13,11)           PUNT RETURNS: 1 (0)
                          INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
                              FIRST DOWNS:   12 (9 rushing, 3 passing)
        FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN:   - 2
                          POINTS OFF OF TURNOVERS: 0
        PENALTIES: 3 / 25 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION: 20:59

OPP RUSHING    49 attempts 303 yards 4 TDs (6.18 yards per carry)
                          PASSING       2 completions 5 attempts 1 INT 37 yards 1 TD (1 sack of, - 14 yards)
                          TOTAL YARDS:   340

                        KICKS: XP 5 / 5                FG 1 / 1 (28 made)
                          2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
                          KICKOFFS: 7 (38,37,34,37,34,44,30)    PUNTS: 1 (35)
                          KO RETURNS: 3 (25,22,16)             PUNT RETURNS: 0
                          INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 2 (22,28)
                          FIRST DOWNS:   20 (19 rushing, 1 passing)
    FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
                          POINTS OFF OF TURNOVERS: 21
              PENALTIES: 7 / 53 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION: 27:01

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