2010 -
GAME 7
SAINT JAMES 32,
Alabama Christian 28 
ACA 6
8 14
0
28
STJ
7 7
10 8
32
SCORING
SUMMARY:
STJ (1) 7:51 Slayton 10 run
(Meadows
kick) 7 - 0
ACA (1) 7:03 Madison 71
run
(kick
blocked) 7 - 6
ACA (2) 11:45 Graham 47
run
(Madison
pass from Solar) 7 - 14
STJ (2) 1:42
Duncan 4 run
(Meadows
kick) 14 - 14
ACA (3) 8:40 Mays 3
run
(Nickolson
kick) 14 - 21
STJ (3) 4:58
Meadows 25 FG
17 - 21
STJ (3) 2:27
Slayton 4 run
(Meadows
kick) 24 - 21
ACA (3) 2:13 Madison 82
kickoff
return
(Nickolson
kick) 24 - 28
STJ (4) 10:43 Safety, Graham
tackled in end zone
26 - 28
STJ (4) 2:08 Duncan 1
run
(pass
failed) 32 - 28
October 8, 2010 Carlisle Field. Game Conditions: Clear, warm
Game Temperature: 83 Wind:
NE 5
In a crazy game full of scores of every kind possible, turnovers,
penalties, questionable calls by both referees and coaches, and
numerous big plays on both side of the ball, Saint James managed
to win a slugfest against crosstown rival Alabama Christian for
their second win of the season as the Trojans simply outscored the
Eagles 32 - 28.
The Trojans did not earn a first down on their opening possession,
but on their second play from scrimmage, a botched handoff and
resulting fumble was recovered by Saint James and they had great
early field position at the Eagle 31. However, three plays
only gained a net of one yard, so a Wilson Adams punt was called
for. The punt was expertly downed by Saint James at the 2,
but a personal foul penalty gave ACA 15 yards of breathing
room. A 20 yard run by Michael Graham overcame a 10 yard
penalty for the initial first down of the game. However,
three plays gained one yard, and on the punt attempt, the snap was
over the head of the punter. He recovered the ball, but the
Trojans took over on the Eagle 10. Immediately, John Slayton
scored on a handoff from 10 yards out. Austin Meadows' extra
point was good, and Saint James led 7 - 0 midway through the
opening quarter.
It took the Eagles less than a minute to respond. After
another near fumble on a handoff on the first play from scrimmage,
Danny Madison took the second handoff and zoomed through defenders
and down the field for a 71 yard touchdown sprint. Drew
Brantley blocked the extra point attempt, so the Trojans
maintained a 7 - 6 lead.
Neither of the next drives were significant, but the Trojans could
not convert a fourth down and 7 on the Eagles 29 as an endzone
pass was just overthrown. Madison caught a pass several
plays after the Eagles took over to move the ball to
midfield. Two plays later, on the opening play of the second
quarter, the first controversial play of the game took
place. The Eagles emerged with the regulation seven men on
the line of scrimmage plus five more in the backfield, making a
total of 12. Normally, this is caught and flagged but this
time the dozen prevailed as Graham on a keeper went off left
tackle and down the far sidelines for another long touchdown run,
this one of 47 yards. Backup quarterback Alex Solar
completed a two point conversion pass to Madison to erase the
earlier block, and ACA was up for the first time in the game at 14
- 7.
The Trojans shanked a punt from deep inside their territory giving
the Eagles fine field position again. However, the drive
never got going and ACA lined up for a 39 yard field goal.
The kick was blocked, again by Brantley, and trickled out of
bounds at the Saint James 26. From there, the Trojans
mustered their longest drive of the season in terms of number of
plays, 15, and in clock time, eating up more than half of the
second quarter. Slayton picked up first downs on runs of 11
and 5 yards, and an encroachment penalty on third and 3 gave Saint
James another first down. Slayton caught a nice pass from
C.J. Duncan for 18 yards and another first down on the Eagle
25. Despite a sack, Duncan picked up 2 yards on fourth and 1
from the 16 to continue the drive. Duncan then carried twice
for 10 and 4 yards, the second earning a touchdown. Meadows'
extra point tied the score at 14. The Eagles had one last
chance to score, but a second field goal, a 31 yard attempt, was
blocked as time expired and for the first time this season the
score was deadlocked at the half.
The Eagles marched 70 yards on their opening possession of the
second half. A 39 yard run by Myles Mays was the key play,
and he was rewarded with the final 3 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan Nickolson this time converted the extra point, and again
ACA was up by a touchdown early in the third quarter.
Saint James responded with a scoring drive of their own, nearly as
long but not quite as fruitful. A personal foul penalty
wiped out a nice interception on the sidelines by the Eagles'
Austin Lovett. Taylor Poe on a rare carry picked up a key
first down inside the Eagle 15, but the drive stalled and Meadows
was called on to convert a 25 yard field goal, which he did, and
the Trojans cut the lead to four points at 21 - 17.
On the next drive, quarterback Graham who also doubled as the
punter was faced with a fourth and long at his own 30.
However, to avoid having a punt potentially blocked, he took off
and tried to earn a first down but was stopped after only a five
yard gain. Saint James took over at the Eagle 35.
Duncan ran for 21 yards, and on the next play he was slung down by
the face mask. The resulting penalty gave Saint James first
down at the Eagle 9. Slayton carried twice, for 5 and 4
yards for the Trojan touchdown. Meadows extra point had the
Trojans back on top at 24 - 21 with over 2 minutes left in the
third quarter.
The lead was very shortlived, as the Eagles executed a reverse on
the kickoff return. Danny Madison took a pitch on his own 28
yard line and slithered down the far sidelines, somehow managing
to both avoid tacklers and stay in bounds before he broke away for
an 82 yard touchdown kickoff return. The Nickolson extra
point quickly had ACA back on top by four, 28 - 24, with still
time remaining in the third quarter.
Saint James was in the midst of another long drive, but on the
first play of the fourth quarter Duncan fumbled inside the Eagle
20 yard line and ACA took over. Several big plays took place
immediately following. Mays picked up three yards on a first
down carry to the 21. On second down, Graham completed a
pass to Madison and he nearly went the distance before being
brought down at the Trojan 23. However, the play was called
back on a holding penalty and it was again second down on the
Eagle 11. ACA decided to try a double reverse which went
horribly wrong. Penetration by the Trojans caused confusion
in the backfield, and Graham was tackled in his own endzone,
perhaps fortunate to retain possession of the ball, and Saint
James had scored a safety thanks to several defenders including
Tom Sullivan.
The free kickoff return by Slayton gave the Trojans good field
possession in Eagle territory trailing by only 2 points.
They moved down to the 18, but a Meadows field goal attempt from
37 yards was apparently just wide right and failed, allowing the
Eagles to maintain their slim lead with 7½ minutes remaining in
the game.
Another holding penalty forced ACA back, but on fourth down and 1
from their own 29, Graham decided again to try and rush for the
first down instead of punting. The Trojan defense stood
tall, literally, and downed Graham a foot behind the line of
scrimmage for a huge turnover on downs. It appeared the
Trojans would regain the lead two plays later as Duncan targeted
an unbelievably wide open William Olsey for a 23 yard touchdown
pass, but he could not control the reception. However,
Duncan picked up the first down on the next play, Taylor Poe
picked up another first down by measurement to the Eagles 9, and
Duncan carried for 8, 0, and 1 yard for the Trojan's go-ahead
touchdown. Ahead 32 - 28, Saint James elected to go for two,
but a pass intended for Lee Ketzler was incomplete. However,
in a crazy game the Trojans had regained the lead with just over 2
minutes remaining.
A pooch kickoff away from Madison and a 12 yard run by Graham
quickly had ACA just short of the midfield stripe. However,
a Graham pass was tipped by Crawford Steinberg and into the arms
of a diving-on-the-ground Forrest Taylor for a mighty
interception. The Eagles used their timeouts, and a
potential injury, to their advantage to force the Trojans to
surrender possession. Wilson Adams' punt was downed on the
Eagle 29 with 56 seconds remaining. A sack by Steinberg on
the first play cost ACA 13 yards and valuable clock time. A
downed pass and a short run out of bounds left the Eagles with a
4th and long. A sideline pass was complete, but no yards
were gained as the Trojan defense held and finally took over with
17 seconds remaining. One knee by Duncan in the Victory
Formation was enough to run out the clock and Saint James' measly
playoff hopes were still alive. More importantly, the second
city rival had been vanquished in three weeks, and the Trojans
were ready to look ahead to their first ever visit to Evergreen
the following Friday.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME SEVEN
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 56 attempts 256
yards 4 TDs 4.57 yards per carry
5
Duncan 29 /
144 (2 TDs) 20
Slayton 18 / 96 (2
TDs) 7
Olsey
2 / 6
19
Ostrye
3
/
5
14
Poe
2 / 5
PASSING
3 completions 17 attempts 0 INTs 80 yards
0 TDs (1 sack of, - 10 yards)
5
Duncan 3 - 17 -
0 80 yards 0 TDs (1 sack, - 10
yards)
RECEIVING
20
Slayton
2 /
71
10
Wachs 1 / 9
TOTAL
YARDS: 336
KICKS:
XP 4 / 4
FG
1 / 2 (25 made, 37 missed)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS:
6 (42,44,44,40,42,25)
PUNTS: 5 (38,28,35,21,26)
KO
RETURNS 6 (0,0fc,7,24,15,30)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
INTERCEPTION
RETURNS: 1 (0)
BLOCKED
FG RETURNS: 1 (5)
FIRST
DOWNS: 22 (17 rushing, 2 passing, 3 penalty)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
PENALTIES: 6 / 49
yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 28:43
A C
A
RUSHING
33
attempts 211 yards 4 TDs (6.39 yards per carry)
PASSING
9 completions 20 attempts 1 INT 77 yards 0
TDs (1 sack of, - 13 yards)
TOTAL
YARDS: 288
KICKS:
XP 2 / 3
FG
0 / 2 (39, 31 blocked)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS:
6 (23,32,57,56,45,58)
PUNTS: 1 (39)
KO
RETURNS: 6 (12,14,14,13,82TD,2)
PUNT
RETURNS: 3 (10,-1,5)
FIRST
DOWNS: 12 (9 rushing, 3 passing)
FUMBLES: 4, lost 1
PENALTIES: 6 / 60
yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 19:17
RETURN
TO THE SAINT JAMES FOOTBALL 2010 HOMEPAGE