2014 -
GAME 9
@ Trinity 31, Saint James 21 
STJ 0
14 7
0 21
TRI
7 0
14 10
31
SCORING SUMMARY:
TRI (1) 6:13 Adams 4 pass
from
Jones
(Amster kick) 0 - 7
STJ (2) 10:53 Robinson 75
run
(Taylor kick)
7 - 7
STJ (2) 2:54 Robinson 2
run
(Taylor kick) 14 - 7
TRI (3) 9:25 Adams 9
pass from
Jones
(Amster kick) 14 - 14
STJ (3) 5:39 Hubbard 42
pass from
Collier
(Taylor kick) 21 - 14
TRI (3) 0:59 Johnson 2
run
(Amster kick) 21 - 21
TRI (4) 9:25 Amster 25
FG
21 - 24
TRI (4) 4:10 Turk 91
run
(Amster kick) 21 - 31
October 24,
2014 Boykin Field. Game conditions:
Clear, cool Game temperature: 67
Wind: negligible
Saint James
had no real answers for the passing antics of Ben Jones and
his Wildcats as Trinity scored 17 unanswered points in the
second half and continued the domination of this inner-city
series by winning their ninth game in a row and their 32nd in
39 overall varsity football contests as Trinity defeated Saint
James 31 - 21 joining the Trojans in the 2014 4A state
playoffs to begin two weeks later.
The first half was definitely a clash of offensive styles, as
the Trojans tried to pound the ball on the ground and the
Wildcats traveled almost exclusively through the air, both
with success. Saint James tried five passes in the first
half, all of which fell incomplete, and Trinity rushed the
ball only five times for a net of minus six yards. On
the opening possession of the game, Saint James' third play
was a 16 yard rush by Jonathan Robinson, who carried once more
for over 150 yards in the game. Several plays later, on
what would be the only turnover of the evening, a fumble was
recovered by Trinity at midfield. Ben Jones began
tossing passes in the five to nine yard range with continual
success. His primary target was Robert Adams, who caught
10 passes in the game for a total of 139 yards. Seven of
the eight plays on the Wildcats' opening drive were passes,
none traversing more than 10 yards, but first downs were being
picked up. Adams caught a four yard pass for the first
score of the game and Jack Amster's extra point gave Trinity a
7 - 0 lead midway through the first quarter.
After an endzone kickoff, the Trojans were three and out and
the Wildcats had possession again. A defensive pass
interference penalty earned Trinity a first down, but a
holding penalty eventually led to a Trinity punt. Once
again the Trojans could not earn a first down, but neither
could the Wildcats as the Trojan corners had moved up to help
prevent those pesky short passes. Early in the second
quarter, Saint James took over at their own 24 yard
line. On five of his first seven carries, Robinson had
been stopped for exactly a one yard gain, as he was on his
eighth carry. His ninth, however, was an entirely
different story. He broke several tackles at the line of
scrimmage and broke into the Trinity secondary where he pulled
away from pursuers on his way to a 75 yard touchdown
jaunt. Coleman Taylor's extra point tied the score at 7.
Saint James continued the momentum as Trinity began their next
drive from their own 27. A pass completion which lost
four yards, a false start penalty, a holding penalty, a sack,
and a delay of game penalty pushed the ball all the way back
to the one. A short pass completion was fumbled,
fortunately for Trinity out of bounds at the three, and the
ensuing punt was returned by Coleman Taylor back to the
Wildcat 39. The Trojans used nearly half of the second
quarter clock time to travel those 39 yards to the endzone,
exclusively on the ground, exclusively on the legs of Robinson
and Connor Collier. The Trojans converted two fourth
downs on the drive, and on the twelfth play, Robinson carried
in from the two for his second touchdown of the quarter.
Taylor's extra point gave the Trojans a seven point lead with
just under three minutes remaining until halftime.
Trinity earned one first down before punting once more, and
neither team could generate significant offense before
halftime, allowing the Trojans to retain their seven point
halftime advantage.
The Wildcats opened up the trick play book to start the third
quarter on an 80 yard touchdown drive. After two runs,
Adams caught a 15 yard pass for a first down. On the
next play, Adams took a handoff on a reverse which netted only
three yards. However, on the following play, Adams once
again took a handoff on a reverse. This time, however,
he set his sights downfield on a wide open receiver, Michael
Sellers, who was fortunate to be caught from behind by the
Trojan secondary after a 51 yard completion. On the next
play, as the Trojans tried to regroup, Adams caught his second
touchdown pass - a nine yarder - and Amster's extra point
quickly re-tied the contest at 14 - 14.
After an endzone kickoff, the Trojans embarked on their own 80
yard drive. Blake Underwood carried for 15 yards
on first down. Robinson later picked up two first downs
rushing, the second moving the ball to the Wildcat 40.
After a loss of two yards on first down, Saint James went back
to attempt a play they had tried in the first quarter -
sending receiver Atchison Hubbard on a fly pattern. He
had just missed the catch on the first attempt, but this time
Collier's pass was spot on and Hubbard caught it and raced 42
yards before being tackled on the goal line for a
touchdown. Taylor's extra point gave the lead back to
Saint James at 21 - 14 and it looked as if the scoring would
be coming fast and furiously in the second half. It did,
somewhat, but unfortunately for Saint James only on one side
the remainder of the contest.
Adams caught a Jones pass for 21 yards on the next Wildcat
drive to move the ball near midfield. However, a holding
penalty on another completion stalled the drive, and a rare
shanked punt veered out of bounds at the Saint James 35.
However, a holding penalty and a retaliation dead ball
personal foul penalty quickly backed up the Trojans to their
own 13. Four plays later, the Wildcats took over after a
punt at the Trojan 46. The trick play was once again
called for, as Trinity executed a perfect "flea flicker" where
Jones handed off to a carrier who flipped the ball back, and
Jones found Adams opened for a 52 yard gain down to the Trojan
2. Hunter Johnson was rewarded with his first, and only,
carry of the game - a two yard touchdown run, and the score
was once more tied, this time at 21.
A holding penalty on the kickoff return pushed the Trojans
back to their own 13, and on the second play of the fourth
quarter, Adams demonstrated his strength as a kick returner
picking up 36 yards on a punt return. However, a
majority of the yardage was negated by a block in the back
penalty, but Trinity had the ball at their own 48. Adams
was wide open over the middle on first down for a 25 yard
completion, and yet another defensive pass interference
penalty on the next play had the Wildcats in the red
zone. On fourth down from just outside the eight yard
line, Amster was called in to attempt an angled field goal,
which he converted from 25 yards. Saint James was called
for running into the kicker on the play, and after a lengthy
discussion and a measurement which showed the ball being
inches short of a first down, Trinity opted to keep the points
on the board to regain the lead for the first time since the
opening touchdown of the game, at 24 - 21 with nine minutes
remaining in regulation time.
A fine kickoff return by Jaylen McCoy gave Saint James first
down at their own 44. Robinson converted a fourth down
with a six yard carry into Trinity territory. However,
on a fourth and 13 from the Wildcat 45 and 4½ minutes
remaining on the clock, Saint James opted to punt and pin
Trinity, which they did rather successfully at the 9 yard
line. Or so they thought. On first down, the
Trojans were the victim of a similar situation they have
benefited from earlier in the season. Jake Turk was
given a handoff and likely instructed to stay inbounds and
gain what he could. He wriggled his way through several
potential tacklers at about the 12 yard line, and then broke
through and saw nothing but a clear sideline. He was
almost run down in the end, but he instead ended up with a 91
yard scoring play which seriously deflated the Trojan
sideline. Amster's extra point boosted the lead to ten
points late in the fourth quarter.
Robinson gave the Trojans good field position with a return to
the 37 yard line, but four consecutive incomplete passes, one
a crucial drop, turned the ball back over to the
Wildcats. Trinity called safe running plays and even
allowed the play clock to expire once before punting, and
Saint James down by 10 had the ball at their own 12 with 90
seconds remaining. A sack on first down, and a sack and
fumble on second down led to a bouncing ball on the goal
line. Trojan lineman John Sullivan picked up the loose
ball and managed to return it to the 12 yard line, avoiding
disaster. Jalen Harris converted a fourth down with a 23
yard catch and run, and several plays later Robinson caught a
pass for a 15 yard gain, but it was way too little too late as
the clock expired and Trinity celebrated their ninth
consecutive victory over their Capital City Conference
foes. With region play over, the Trojans would look to
the results of other action to see who their playoff opponent
would be in two weeks at Carlisle Field. However, they
had one more game left in the regular season - the renewal of
a once bitter, albeit mostly one-sided, rivalry which had been
dormant for 25 years - a matchup with the Marbury Bulldogs.
SIDELINE
STATISTICS - GAME NINE
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING
45 attempts 193 yards 2 TDs
(4.29 yards per carry)
1
Robinson 26 /
157 (2 TDs) 12
Collier 13
/ 28 67
Sullivan
1 / 12
5
Underwood 3
/
8
2 Melendez 2 / - 12
PASSING
5 completions 16 attempts 1 INT 92 yards
1 TD
12 Collier
3 - 7 - 0 54 yards 1
TD
2
Melendez
2 - 9 - 0 38 yards
RECEIVING
15
Hubbard
1 / 42 (1 TD)
43
Harris
1 /
23 1
Robinson
1 / 15
16
Cherry
1 /
9
27 Williamson 1 / 3
TOTAL
YARDS: 285
KICKS: XP 3 / 3
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4 (37,48,52,45)
PUNTS: 6 (40,36,24,33,34,36)
KO RETURNS: 4 (27,21,38,30)
PUNT RETURNS: 5
(11,6,11,3,6)
FIRST
DOWNS: 14 (11 rushing, 3 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 4 / 16
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 4 / 5
FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
TURNOVER
MARGIN: - 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 5 / 60 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 28:48
TRINITY
RUSHING 16 attempts 102 yards 2
TDs (6.38 yards per carry, 91 yards on one carry)
PASSING
19 completions 31 attempts 0 INTs 233
yards 2 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 335
KICKS: XP 4 / 4
FG 1 / 1 (35
made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS:
0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 6
(59,EZ,EZ,59,54,53) PUNTS: 6
(46,46,47,45,30,34)
KO
RETURNS: 4 (4,14,12,0)
PUNT RETURNS: 5
(0fc,0fc,7,8,0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 16 (3 rushing, 11 passing, 2 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 9
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
FUMBLES:
1, lost 0
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 7 / 57 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 19:12
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