2017 -
GAME 9
SAINT JAMES 49, @ Dale County 22 
D C
0
0 14 8
22
SCORING SUMMARY
STJ (1) 10:03 Duncan 33
run
(Kim kick) 7
- 0
STJ (1) 3:04 Amerson 1
run
(Kim kick) 14 - 0
STJ (1) 0:00 Amerson 23
run
(Kim kick) 21 - 0
STJ (3) 7:33 Amerson 10
run
(Kim
kick) 28 - 0
D C (3) 6:45 Henderson
72
run
(kick failed) 28 - 6
STJ (3) 4:25 Amerson 3
run
(Kim kick) 35 - 6
D C (3) 0:05 D.
Henderson 17 pass from Rodebaugh (T.
Henderson run) 35 - 14
STJ (4) 8:18 Amerson 23
run
(Kim kick) 42 - 14
D C (4) 6:35 Rodebaugh 1 run
(D. Henderson pass from
Rodebaugh) 42 - 22
STJ (4) 6:05 Robertson
59
run
(Kim kick) 49 - 22
October 20,
2017 Warrior Stadium. Game
Conditions: Partly Cloudy Game
Temperature: 68 Wind: NE 5
Despite tying a school record with 131 yards in accepted penalties
against, the Trojans managed to eclipse the 40 point mark for the
fifth consecutive week as Saint James clinched a spot in the 2017
playoffs while Tony Amerson tied another school record with five
touchdowns as part of a 49 - 22 thrashing of the Dale County
Warriors.
Saint James won the opening coin toss and deferred their option to
the second half, but it didn't take long for the Trojans to
strike. The Trojan defense held the Warriors to a three and
out on their opening drive, and a bad snap to the punter forced
only an 11 yard punt which went out of bounds at the Dale County
33. On the next play, Collin Duncan took the handoff, found
a hole up the middle, and somehow managed to break several tackles
in the Dale County secondary before dragging a potential tackler
into the endzone. Jim Kim's extra point, the first of seven
consecutive, gave Saint James a 7 - 0 lead less than two minutes
into the game.
A defensive holding penalty against the Trojans, one of twelve
which would be accepted by the Warriors in the game, led to the
only first down Dale County would earn in the first quarter.
On fourth down and 2 from their own 45, the Warriors risked
conversion and failed on a pass completion which did not reach the
line to gain. However, Saint James could not take advantage,
pinning the Warriors with an endzone punt. Again, though,
the Dale County punting game failed them as Saint James put on a
tremendous rush on the next fourth down play and forced a nearly
straight up punt which was downed six yards behind the line of
scrimmage, giving the Trojans fantastic field position at the
Warrior 19. From there, workhorse Tony Amerson was given
four straight handoffs - the fourth being from a yard out - and he
scored the first of his five touchdowns. The extra point
doubled the lead to 14 - 0 late in the first quarter.
A well-placed kickoff, and a nice punt return by T.R. Robertson
boosted by a face mask penalty set the Trojans up once more in
Warrior territory at the 28. A pass completion to Cory
Wright was negated by a holding penalty, No problem.
Robertson picked up 20 on the next handoff, and then Amerson
scooted in for his first of two 23 yard touchdowns on the final
play of the quarter as Kim's extra point gave the Trojans a 21 - 0
lead heading into the second stanza.
Neither team could get much going in the second quarter, as
offensive and defensive penalties stifled the Trojans, and
continued woeful field position hindered the Warriors who only
could muster 36 yards of total offense in the opening half.
Dale County tried a desperation mid-range pass and lateral play to
end the half, but a bouncy backward pass on the fourth exchange
resulted in only a five yard net gain, and Saint James took their
21 point lead into the halftime break.
An out of bounds kickoff by Dale County gave the Trojans decent
field position to start the third quarter, and they responded with
a workmanlike 9 play 65 yard drive, mostly on the back, and arms
and legs, of Amerson. Stephen Sadie converted a key third
down and 9 with a deft 11 yard carry, and on the ninth play of the
drive Amerson scored from 10 yards out for his third touchdown of
the evening and a 28 - 0 lead, and it appeared another rout was on
the way.
Not so fast! After an endzone kickoff, Warrior quarterback
Sthil Rodebaugh completed an 8 yard pass on first down, and then
feature running back Tae Henderson found a rare hole in the Trojan
line and sped through it, gaining momentum and pulling away from
Trojan defenders as the red-clad Senior Night Dale County fans
finally had something game-related to cheer on as he broke loose
for a 72 yard touchdown, accounting for a third of the total
Warrior yardage on one play. The extra point attempt was
wide, but Dale County finally had a smidgen of momentum as they
cut the lead to 28 - 6.
That momentum was squashed as T.R. Robertson nearly returned the
ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, weaving from side to side and
breaking tackles from the wearying Warrior defense, finally to be
brought down at the Warrior 21. A holding penalty further
toward the goal line pushed the Trojans back 10 yards, but it was
a temporary setback. Five plays later, Amerson scored his
fourth touchdown from 3 yards out and Kim's kick extended the lead
to 35 - 7 with still time remaining in the third quarter.
As the Trojans began substituting on defense, the Warriors
embarked on their best drive of the evening, but more Saint James
penalties stoked the fire. A horsecollar tackle gave the
Warriors their initial drive first down, and a pass interference
penalty on an unlikely to convert fourth and 17 became a very
manageable fourth and 2 several plays later. A touchdown
pass from Rodebaugh several plays later included another pass
interference penalty which was enforced on the kickoff.
Henderson added a two point conversion after the touchdown to make
up for the previously-missed extra point, and Dale County had cut
the lead to 35 - 14 with just 5 seconds remaining in the third
quarter.
Kicking off from the Trojan 45, Dale County was able to pin the
Trojans in at their own 20 to start the fourth quarter.
However, Saint James embarked on what would be a game clinching 8
play 80 yard drive, despite overcoming yet another penalty on an
ineligible receiver on a halfback pass attempt from Duncan, one of
only two passes the Trojans would attempt all evening - and it
didn't even count in the end because of the accepted
penalty. Stephen Sadie was the feature back on this drive,
taking two handoffs for first down runs of 20 and 21 yards
respectively to move the ball into Warrior territory.
The Trojans were lucky to recover an Amerson fumble mid-drive, but
he followed the muff up with 21 and 23 yard runs on the next two
plays, the second resulting in his school record-tying fifth
touchdown of the game. Kim's extra point pushed Saint James
past the 40 point mark again, at 42 - 14, with still 8 minutes
remaining in the game.
Dale County, in desperation, shunned the running game on the next
drive. Yet another pass interference penalty resulted in a
Warrior first down, and a pair of Rodebaugh passes quickly
advanced the ball to the Trojan 6. From their Rodebaugh
called his own number on a keeper and darted in for a Warrior
touchdown. Henderson added another two point conversion on a
run, and the lead was down to 20 with still over 6 minutes
remaining in an exhilirating, but slowly moving game with all of
the first downs, pass completions and incompletions, and penalties
pausing the game clock.
Saint James, expecting an onside kick, had the hands team up close
leaving only Jin Kim back to receive a potential kickoff.
The Warriors kicked deep, and Kim showed his versatility by
returning the kickoff back all the way to the Trojan 41, a return
of nearly 30 yards. On the first play, T.R. Robertson earned
a rare carry, his third of the night, and he burst through a hole
similarly to what his Warrior counterpart Henderson had done
earlier. He broke several tackles well downfield and added a
59 yard touchdown to his game statistics, giving him a career high
90 yards on three carries. Kim'x extra point ended the
night's scoring at 49 - 22.
The Warriors earned a first down on their following drive, but a
rare Dale County dead ball penalty eventually led to a fourth down
and 25 which could not be converted. The second string
Trojan offense ran out most of the remaining game clock, and the
Warriors followed suit by entering their second string offense on
the final drive to exhaust the remaining time. The victory
locked up a playoff spot for the Trojans for the third consecutive
year, and a win in the final regular season home game against
Trinity would ensure a first round home playoff matchup with a
region championship still a distinct possibility.
GAME NINE SIDELINE STATISTICS
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 42 attempts
384 yards 7 TDs
(9.14 yards per carry)
21
Amerson
29 / 189 (5 TDs)
12
Robertson
3 / 90 (1 TD)
5
Duncan
4 / 53 (1 TD)
23 S.
Sadie
3 /
52
33
Armagost
1 /
2
27 A.
Sadie
2 / - 2
PASSING
1 completions 1 attempt 0 INTs minus 5
yards 0 TDs
14
Garnett
1 - 1 - 0 minus 5 yards
RECEIVING
12 Robertson
1 / - 5
TOTAL
YARDS: 379
KICKS: XP 7 / 7
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 8
(42,33,56,50,EZ,48,43,52)
PUNTS: 3 (40,46,23)
KO RETURNS: 3 (73,12,29)
PUNT RETURNS: 2
(6.4)
FIRST
DOWNS: 18 (18 rushing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 5 / 9
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
TURNOVER
MARGIN: 0
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 12 / 131
yards (yardage ties all-time school record)
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 25:24
DALE COUNTY
RUSHING 27 attempts 123 yards 2
TDs (4.56 yards per carry, 72 yards on one play)
PASSING
10 completions 23 attempts 0 INTs 95 yards 1 TD
TOTAL
YARDS: 218
KICKS: XP 0 / 1
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 2 / 2
KICKOFFS: 4
(OB,54,37,48)
PUNTS: 5 (11,-6,28,28,41)
KO
RETURNS: 7 (9,0fc,12,13,14,20,23)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 11 (5 running, 3 passing, 3 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 12
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 5
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 3 / 35 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 22:36
RETURN TO THE SAINT JAMES 2017 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE