2013 - GAME 2

@ Ashford 20, Saint James 19 
STJ         0       6      13      0         19
 
 ASH        0       0       0     20         20

SCORING SUMMARY

STJ  (2)    8:50   J. Robinson 26 pass from Collier        (kick failed)     6 -   0
STJ  (3)    9:32   McCoy 25 run                                     (pass failed)   12 -   0
STJ  (3)    7:11   Murry 38 interception return              (Taylor kick)   19 -   0
ASH (4)  10:33   Harper 30 run                                  (Crooms kick)   19 -   7
ASH (4)    4:45   Richardson 1 run                                (kick failed)    19 - 13
ASH (4)    0:42   Harper 10 pass from Richardson      (Gibson kick)    19 - 20

September 6, 2013.  W.H. Brown Field.  Game Conditions:  Mostly clear  Game Temperature:  84  Wind:  none

Saint James seemed to break open a close game early in the third quarter with a pair of turnover-generated touchdowns, but they allowed the homestanding Yellow Jackets to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one of those in the final minute of the game, as Ashford surprised the Trojans in a 20 - 19 come from behind effort.

Neither team accomplished much in a first quarter whether the defenses were equally as stubborn as the offenses were sloppy.  Each team could only secure two first downs in the first four drives of the game.  The Trojans' third possession started at their own 34 yard line.  A roughing the passer penalty on first down rewarded Saint James with an immediate first down, and a Frank Moody run on the first play of the second quarter overcame a Trojan penalty for another first down in Jacket territory.  Jake Sharp ran for 13 yards on his opening appearance in the game, but gave back 12 on the next play on a wayward snap from center.  However, another roughing the passer penalty helped the Trojans overcome a second and long yardage and moved them into striking distance.  Jonathan Robinson's nine yard pass reception was nullified by a holding penalty, pushing the ball back to the Jacket 26.  On the next play, Connor Collier rared back and saw Robinson open deep over the middle.  A Jacket defender attempted an interception, but mistimed his leap for the ball, and Robinson cradled the reception for a 26 yard touchdown.  The snap on the extra point was poor and the conversion failed, but Saint James had a 6 - 0 lead early in the second quarter.

Ashford picked up enough yardage to gain the field position advantage, and pinned Saint James at their own three yard line after a punt.  Another penalty and a declined penalty prevented the Trojans from gaining ground, and a punt gave the Jackets their first scoring opportunity late in the half at the Trojan 38.  However, a thundrous sack by Michael Robinson thwarted the threat, and an endzone punt seemed to allow the Trojans to run out the clock if desired.

However, a deep Collier pass was intercepted by Payton Crooms and returned to the Trojan 49.  After a long pass for a first down and a subsequent defensive pass interference penalty, Ashford was on the Trojan 15 yard line.  However, the Saint James defense stiffened, and Ashford attempted a 28 yard field goal which sailed wide left, preserving the Trojans' shaky 6 - 0 lead into halftime.

The Trojans were recipients of an immediate gift as Ashford fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Ivan Villageois recovered the loose ball at the Jacket 30.  Two runs by Frank Moody netted six yards, and a defensive offside penalty gave the Trojans a free first down.  An intentional grounding penalty two plays later left the Trojans with a difficult third and 16 from the Jacket 25.  However, Jaylen McCoy took the handoff and sped around left end, avoiding several potential tacklers, scrambled, and fell just inside the goal line pylon for his first career Trojan touchdown.  A two point conversion pass failed, but Saint James had quickly doubled their lead to 12 - 0.

A reasonable kickoff return and a 21 yard run by Ashford's Beonta Thomas gave the Jackets first down near midfield.  Three plays later produced one of the most interesting plays for the Trojans in several seasons.  Quarterback Zachary Moore dropped back to pass but was rushed by several Trojan lineman.  He attempted to loft the ball downfield, but it was deflected and bounced around like a pinball between arms before Brad Murry snatched the ball out of the air and rumbled like a locomotive 38 yards to the endzone for what was officially an interception return for a score.  Coleman Taylor converted this extra point, and midway through the third quarter Saint James finally appeared to be in control with a 19 - 0 lead.

The insertion of backup quarterback Juwan Richardson for the Jackets seemed to insert some life into the team, albeit not immediately.  The teams traded punts, but Ashford had good field position starting a drive at the Trojan 49 with 70 seconds remaining in the third quarter.  It didn't seem like much at the time, but the Jackets finally converted a third down attempt with a simple two yard pass completion on the first play of the final quarter.  After an incomplete pass, an eight yard run by Richardson and a 30 yard burst on third down by Hunter Harper gave Ashford its first score of the season, much less the game.  Crooms kicked the extra point, but the Trojans were still comfortably ahead at 19 - 6 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The offense of the Trojans appeared to be in shutdown mode in the second half - only earning two first downs in the second half - one on the offside penalty earlier and the other on a virtually meaningless pass completion on the final play of the game.  Saint James was also having to waste what would eventually be lost timeouts during the second half for various reasons.  Another punt failed to exit Trojan territory, and Ashford had good field possession.  Their drive would be slowed by an illegal procedure penalty, but on fourth down from the Trojan 43, Richardson completed a pass to Andrew Rice for twelve yards and a successful conversion.  Richardson scampered for 21 yards on the next play, and two plays later snuck in from inside the one yard line for another Jacket touchdown.  The point after attempt this time was wide left, but Ashford had too quickly cut the lead to one possession, at 19 - 13, with still nearly five minutes remaining in the game.

Again the Trojans made no headway, and a quarterback sack forced them back to their own 15 to force yet another punt.  Ashford took over on their own 46 and was lucky to retain possession after the second play of the drive as Richardson fumbled at the end of a ten yard keeper.  Four plays later, on fourth down and five, Stevonte Tullis picked up 10 yards on a busted play to continue the Jacket drive.  The play of the game, unfortunately for the Trojans, occurred two downs later.  On third down from the 20, a Richardson pass was lofted into the endzone which fell incomplete, but a very dubious flag was thrown and Saint James was charged with pass interference.  As the Jackets (and the Trojans) had exhausted all their timeouts, running plays in the last minute of the game were unlikely to be called, and on the next play Richardson hooked up with Hunter Harper on a short pass and he scampered into the endzone for a touchdown.  There was some personnel confusion on the extra point attempt, but lineman Michael Gibson hurriedly raced back and set up for the crucial kick, which he converted, giving Ashford an amazing 20 - 19 lead in the last minute of the game.

Jalen McCoy's kickoff return picked up a substantial 27 yards, but also ran a substantial 11 seconds off the clock.  Three passes went incomplete, and McCoy caught a pass on fourth down which gained only 11 yards, far short of the needed yards for the Trojans to even consider perhaps a field goal attempt as time ran out, and for the second straight week the disappointed Trojans left the field after letting a double digit lead evaporate, this time in a meaningful region game they felt they should have won.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME TWO

SAINT JAMES   RUSHING   30 attempts  51 yards  1 TD  (1.70 yards per carry)

                         20   Moody         18 / 47         6   McCoy        6 / 27  (1 TD)         18   Sharp             2 / 1
                           1   Robinson        1 / - 5      12   Collier         3 / - 19

                        PASSING   5 completions  15 attempts  1 INT  72  yards  1 TD

                         12   Collier          5 - 15 - 1   72 yards   1 TD

                        RECEIVING

                           1   Robinson        2 / 35  (1 TD)        8   Powell       2 / 26           6   McCoy           1 / 11

                        TOTAL YARDS:   133

                        KICKS:  XP  1 / 2                FG  0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 1
                        KICKOFFS:  4  (44,32,44,47)                          PUNTS:  6  (32,41,28,31,28,39)
                        KO RETURNS:  4  (23,13,18,27)                     PUNT RETURNS:   1  (0fc)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   9   (4 rushing, 2 passing, 3 penalty)
                        THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  5 / 12
                        FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                        FUMBLES: 3, lost 0
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   + 1
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  1  (38TD)
                        POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  13
                        ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   10 / 95 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  22:53

ASHFORD       RUSHING    37 attempts  190 yards  2 TDs  (5.14 yards per carry)
                        PASSING      5 completions  17 attempts  1 INT  58 yards  1 TD
                        TOTAL YARDS:  248

                        KICKS:  XP  2 / 3                FG   0 / 1  (28 missed)
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS:  4  (45,43,49,46)                        PUNTS:  5  (28,31,43,45,30)
                        KO RETURNS:  4  (16,2f,12,27)                   PUNT RETURNS:  3  (0fc,0fc,0fc)
                        FIRST DOWNS:  15  (9 rushing, 4 passing. 2 penalty)
                        THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  3 / 12
                        FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  2 / 2
                        FUMBLES:  2, lost 1
                        POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                        PENALTIES:  5 / 35 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  25:07

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