2017 -
GAME 10
SAINT JAMES 56, Trinity 14 
STJ
21 14
21 0
56
SCORING SUMMARY
STJ (1) 9:26 Garnett 15
run
(Kim kick) 7 - 0
STJ (1) 6:01 Amerson 47
run
(Kim kick) 14 - 0
STJ (1) 0:14 Amerson 5
run
(Kim kick) 21 - 0
TRI (2) 9:50 Hufham 6 pass
from
Bright
(Taylor kick) 21 - 7
STJ (2) 2:54 Yergensen 20 pass
from
Garnett
(Kim kick) 28 - 7
TRI (2) 0:55 Singletary 14
pass from
Bright
(Taylor kick) 28 - 14
STJ (2) 0:39 Robertson 91
kickoff
return
(Kim kick) 35 - 14
STJ (3) 4:13 Amerson 4
run
(Kim kick) 42 - 14
STJ (3) 3:01 Robertson 35 pass
from
Garnett
(Taylor kick) 49 - 14
STJ (3) 0:04 Amerson 6
run
(Kim kick) 56 - 14
October 27, 2017. Carlisle Field. Cloudy,
warm, occasional sprinkles. Game
Temperature: 71 Wind: E 5
Saint James needed a victory to clinch a
first round home playoff game in 2017, and did they ever get one -
as Tony Amerson led the way for the Saint James offense with 207
yards on 29 carries, and the Trojan defense held the Wildcat
running game to minus 16 yards and a net of 27 yards total offense
in the second half en route to the largest thrashing of Trinity in
the 42 years of the series with a 56 - 14 win on Senior Night
2017.
The Saint James first string offense was virtually unstoppable as
they drove for touchdowns on each of their first eight possessions
from varying lengths of the field. The special teams
assisted, as Collin Duncan returned the opening kickoff 58 yards
to the Trinity 40 yard line. Runs by Duncan and Tony Amerson
advanced the ball to the 15 within four plays, and then
quarterback Josh Garnett called his own number on a counter play
where the defense was clearly not focused on him. His 15
yard touchdown opened the scoring and Jin Kim's extra point, the
first of eight consecutive (tying a school record) propelled the
Trojans to a 7 - 0 lead 2½ minutes into the game.
The Wildcat offense, headlined by quarterback Trace Bright, was
stifled on their opening possession and after a punt, the Trojans
had good field position at their own 42. A penalty started
the drive, but four consecutive runs by Amerson saw the Trojans in
the endzone yet again. The fourth carry was a deft 47 yard
run where he powered through the opening line of defense and
deftly pulled away for the first of his four touchdowns. The
extra point doubled the lead to 14 - 0 midway through the opening
stanza.
An out of bounds kickoff gave Trinity some life and a first down
pass completion added. However, four plays later, the
Wildcats risked a try from just inside midfield on fourth down and
could not convert, setting up Saint James with only half of the
field to navigate. Amerson was the workhorse, again, on the
drive, but he was supplemented with carries from Garnett, Stephen
Sadie, and T.R. Robertson. Amerson bulled in from 5 yards
out on the last play of the drive and the Trojans were up by 3
touchdowns with still seconds remaining to go in the first period.
Trinity finally managed a scoring drive to start the second
period. A key play was a late hit penalty by Saint James
which pushed the ball across midfield. Bright was looking
repeatedly for his favorite target Luke Hufham. They
connected for an 18 yard catch and run setting up first and goal
at the Trojans 6. It took four downs for the combination to
click again, but Hufham outbattled stiff defensive pressure on the
fourth down play and caught a touchdown pass just inside the
endzone for the Wildcats' first score. Once Saint James
Trojan McKay Taylor converted the extra point, and Trinity was
back in the game at 21 - 7 still very early in the second quarter.
Yet another out of bounds kickoff gave Saint James the ball at the
35, and they embarked on a studious 14 play drive which nearly
covered seven minutes of clock time. Once again Amerson was
the main contributor setting up Saint James again in the Wildcat
red zone. However, a holding penalty forced the Trojans into
a first down and 22 at the Wildcat 27. No matter.
After a short loss on first down, one of the very few negative
yardage plays, Garnett connected with a 9 yard pass to Amerson to
set up third down at the 20. On the next play, Steven
Yergensen, usually in the backfield as a blocker, broke open down
the middle of the field and was wide open when targeted by Garnett
for a 20 yard catch and run touchdown. Kim's extra point
re-bolstered the lead to 21 with time waning in the first half.
However, each team would score once more. A critical
defensive late hit penalty on an unconverted fourth down extended
the drive for the Wildcats, and they took prompt advantage.
Bright found an open Jack Singletary for a 14 yard touchdown pass,
and it appeared the scoring fest was on as Taylor's extra point
cut the lead back to a two touchdown deficit in the last minute of
the half. Not for very long however. T.R. Robertson
fielded the ensuing kickoff and smartly navigated around early
traffic to find a hole to break into, and he stayed just far
enough ahead of pursuing Wildcats to complete a 91 yard kickoff
return touchdown, the third longest in Saint James football
history and the first since the 2014 season. Kim's kick
quickly swayed the momentum back to Saint James as they completed
a five for five touchdown drive streak in the first half and again
led by 21 as the Wildcats, who had previously used up their
timeouts, could only venture barely into Trojan territory before
halftime.
The Trojan defense must have received a stern talking-to at
halftime. Even though they had held Trinity to minus 6 yards
rushing in the first half, they had surrendered 165 passing
yards. In the second half, the Wildcats would only manage 27
net yards of total offense, including a quick three and out on the
opening drive of the second half. Saint James took over at
their own 30 and embarked on another 6 minute plus drive resulting
in a touchdown. The Trojans got a huge break early in the
drive when an Amerson fumble was recovered 9 yards downfield by
Stephen Sadie. Amerson, Duncan, and Robertson shared
carries, but as the Trojans reached the Wildcat 15, they had to
overcome yet another holding penalty similarly to the final
opening half drive. No sweat. Sadie carried for a
total of 24 yards on the next two plays, and two plays later
Amerson added his third touchdown from 4 yards out. Kim's
extra point gave Saint James a comfortable 42 - 14 lead midway
through the third quarter.
On third down of the next drive, Blake Harper intercepted a Bright
pass, the only turnover for either team in the game, and the
Trojans were back in business at the Wildcat 46. Sadie
carried for 11 yards on first down, and then on-target Garnett
located Robertson who had blown past his defender and caught a
perfectly thrown pass for a 35 yard catch and run touchdown and,
after the conversion, a 49 - 14 lead. The Wildcats were yet
again pinned deep and forced into a three and out where a punt was
fair caught at the Trinity 48. Tony Amerson was given the
ball four conecutive plays, his final four of the evening, and 48
yards later he was again in the endzone with his fourth touchdown
of the night, and his amazing 17th touchdown of October,, and it
was again an early end of the night for the starters as Kim kicked
that record-tying eighth extra point and Saint James had put up 56
points on the board for the second time in 2017.
For the third time in 2017, coaches agreed to a running clock,
although only in the fourth quarter in this game. The
quarter moved swiftly with mostly reserves on both teams, and only
one first down was converted in the quarter, that on a run by
Trojan kicker Jin Kim, as he showcased his multi-talents.
Three consecutive victory formation plays were enough to end the
largest Trojan victory ever, by far, over the visiting Wildcats,
and Saint James looked forward to a week off to rest up, heal some
injuries, and look forward to whom they would face off in the
playoffs, first-time opponent Hale County.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME
TEN
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 52
attempts 338 yards 5
TDs (6.50 yards per carry)
21 Amerson
29 / 207 (4
TDs) 23 S.
Sadie
7 / 48
5
Duncan
4 / 38
14
Garnett
3 / 21 (1
TD)
12 Robertson
2 /
19 13
Kim
3 / 10
33
Armagost
1 /
1
8
Fett
3 / - 6
PASSING
3 completions 5 attempts 0 INTs 65 yards
2 TDs
14
Garnett
3 - 5 - 0 65 yards
(2 TDs)
RECEIVING
12
Robertson
1 / 35
(TD)
9
Yergensen 1 / 20
(TD) 21
Amerson
1 / 9
TOTAL
YARDS: 403
KICKS: XP 8 / 8 (tied
school record) FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 9
(56,OB,49,51,32,51,54,56,56)
PUNTS: 0
KO RETURNS: 2 (58,91TD)
PUNT
RETURNS: 3 (0,0fc,0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 25 (23 rushing, 2 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 9 / 11 (9 / 9 first three
quarters)
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
FUMBLE ADVANCEMENT: 1 (9)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 4 / 46 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 29:48 (approximate, running fourth
quarter clock)
TRINITY
RUSHING 9 attempts minus 16
yards 0 TDs
PASSING
16 completions 44 attempts 1 INT 200 yards 2 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 184
KICKS: XP 2 / 2
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 3
(58,OB,51)
PUNTS: 3 (37,37,30)
KO
RETURNS: 8
(21,10,23,9,15,17,16,13)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 9 (1 rushing, 6 passing, 2 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 11
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 5
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
0
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 1 / 5 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 18:12 (approximate)
RETURN TO THE SAINT JAMES 2017 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE