2018 - GAME 3

  SAINT JAMES 41, Bullock County 19    
B C           0       0       7      12          19
 
 STJ           7     14       7      13          41
SCORING SUMMARY

STJ  (1)    8:18   Amerson 4 run                                             (Wachowitz kick)      7 -   0
STJ  (2)  11:30   Duncan 3 run                                               (Wachowitz kick)    14 -   0
STJ  (2)    2:50   Amerson 1 run                                             (Wachowitz kick)    21 -   0
STJ  (3)    8:04   Amerson 23 run                                           (Wachowitz kick)    28 -   0
B C  (3)    3:11   Nichols 64 run                                                    (Nichols kick)    28 -   7
STJ  (4)    8:52   Amerson 8 run                                                  (kick blocked)    34 -   7
B C  (4)    4:15   Flintroy 28 pass from R. Williams                  (kick blocked)    34 - 13
B C  (4)    2:25   Pugh 9 run                                                              (run failed)    34 - 19
STJ  (4)   1:47   Amerson 7 run                                              (Wachowitz kick)   41 - 19
September 7, 2018.  Carlisle Field.  Game Conditions:   Mostly clear, humid.  Game temperature 85.  Winds negligible.
 

Tony Amerson tied a career record with 5 touchdowns in one game, broke his own individual record with 303 yards rushing on 26 carries, added a pass reception for 14 yards, and smashed a nearly fivc year old record as he became the all-time leading rusher in Trojan history, passing Frank Moody's 2010-2013 career output of 3245 yards.  After the game, Amerson had rushed for 3463 yards with seven regular season and possible playoff games remaining in his senior season.  His yardage was certainly welcomed and necessary as the Trojans outfought an undermanned but ferociously gutsy Bullock County team, defeating the Hornets 41 - 19 at Carlisle Field in the 3A Region 3 opener.

For the third time this season, Saint James won the coin toss and elected to receive, but for the first time this season the Trojans did not put points on the board on their opening drive.  After a nice opening kickoff return by Austin Gavin, near disaster struck on the first play as a shotgun snap went well past quarterback Collin Duncan who fell on the ball 17 yards behind the line of scrimmage.  Several plays later, a nicely covered punt gave the Hornets their opening possession at their own 33.  Two incomplete passes and a sack led to what would have been a punt attempt, but Cedric Nichols pulled down the ball with heavy oncoming pressure and tried to earn a first down himself.  He only gained one yard on fourth and twelve, and Saint James had a first down at the Hornet 32.  A pass to the endzone toward an open receiver was overthrown on first down.  However, three straight handoffs to Amerson for 5, 23, and 4 yards had Saint James quickly into the endzone.  Dependable Jan Wachowitz converted his first of five extra points to give the Trojans an early 7 - 0 lead.

Bullock County ran off over four minutes of first quarter clock despite converting only one first down.  However, a shanked punt went out of bounds at the Hornet 46 and Saint James had a short field to work with.  Austin Gavin picked up 13 yards on a first down run, but a penalty appeared to have stalled the drive.  On fourth down and 5 from the Hornet 28, Duncan found Amerson for a pass reception and run for 14 yards and a key first down as the first quarter was ending.  Two plays later, Amerson gained three yards on third down to give Saint James a first down at the Bullock County three.  From there, Duncan called his own number and followed his line blockers smartly into the endzone for a touchdown.  The extra point doubled the lead to 14 - 0 very early in the second quarter.

An out of bounds kickoff gave the Hornets some momentum, and Kentavis Pugh picked up 16 yards on first down to move the ball into Trojan territory.  Several plays later, on fourth down and 5 from the Trojan 21, Nichols, as a true runner and not a desperate punter as earlier, came up about 2 feet short of converting a crucial first down, turning the ball over.  From there, the Trojans promptly drove 83 yards.  The biggest play was a third down pass from Duncan to a wide open Alex Whisenhunt in the middle of the field for a 52 yard catch and run down to the Saint James 28.  Another huge loss on an ensuing quarterback scramble appeared to end a scoring threat, but a defensive pass interference penalty on third down and 22 from the Hornet 40 led to a much more manageable third down and 7 on the next play.  Amerson picked up 13 to earn the first down, and after a Gavin run of 6 yards, Amerson finished off the scoring drive with 5 and 1 yard runs for the third Trojan touchdown.  The extra point gave Saint James a 21 - 0 lead with just under three minutes remaining until halftime.

A Hornet block in the back penalty negated a decent kickoff return, and an ensuing three and out gave Saint James one more chance to score before halftime.  On first down from the Trojan 40, Duncan lifted a pass toward a pair of Trojan receivers which was tipped and caught by Austin Gavin for eventually a 20 yard gain, from 40 to 40.  However, on the next play, Duncan was sacked on a scramble pushing the ball back into Trojan territory, and Saint James elected to let the clock expire with the three touchdown halftime cushion.

Bullock County brought fresh legs onto the field to start the second half as Brandon Perry made his first noteworthy game appearance by returning the second half kickoff to the Hornet 37.  He carried on four of the next five plays, earning one first down, but the Hornets had to punt once reaching midfield.  A block in the back penalty negated a fine Saint James punt return, and the Trojans had miserable field position to start the second half at their own 12 yard line.  No problem.  On first down, Amerson broke loose into the secondary and ran down the far sideline with five Hornets chasing him in formation.  Finally, the numbers advantage caught up with Amerson as he was forced out of bounds on the Hornet 23 after a 65 yard jaunt.  On the next play, Amerson raced through the likely tired defenders again, 23 yards into the endzone for a quick score on a two play 88 yard drive.  Wackowitz's fourth consecutive game and ninth consecutive season extra point gave Saint James a seemingly comfortable 28 - 0 lead.

Despite another out of bounds kick, Bullock County had to punt before converting a first down.  Their defense held Saint James as well with a three and out, and the Hornets took over on their own 36.  With only 19 players dressed out, Bullock County could have easily waved a white towel as most of the players were playing both ways and unquestionably were tiring.  However, the Hornet workhorse Cedric Nichols took the handoff on first down, found a hole, and broke at least four tackles as he finally cleared turbulence on his way to a 64 yard touchdown run and the Hornets' first score of the night.  Nichols had enough breath and strength left to convert the extra point, and Bullock County had cut the lead to three touchdowns late in the third quarter.

A ground ball kickoff was recovered by Bennett Blankenship at the Trojan 35.  From there, Amerson and Gavin shared carries and gained yardage down toward the Hornet 20 when Bullock County recovered a fumble on the first turnover of the game on the third play of an eventful fourth quarter.  Despite a defensive offside penalty, Bullock County had no choice but to go on fourth down and Nichols, the expected carrier, was dropped for a five yard loss deep in Hornet territory.  Again, a two consecutive run drive by Amerson had Saint James in the endzone, this time on runs of 15 and 8 yards respectively.  Wachowitz's extra point was blocked, his first miss of the season, but the Trojans were up 34 - 7 as game time was beginning to wind down.

After another out of bounds kick, Nichols and Perry virtually alternated carries and gave Bullock County significant chunks of positive yardage.  Immediately after a play where the Hornets were lucky to recover a fumbled snap, quarterback Robert Williams found his receiver Je'Derrius Flintroy open for a 28 yard touchdown.  Similar to the previous, the extra point was blocked, but the Hornets had cut the Trojan lead to a three touchdown margin.   After a Hornet out of bounds kick, the second string Trojan offense hit the field.  Clayton Craft had a nifty 6 yard run to open the drive, but yet another lost fumble on the next play gave the Hornets great field position.  From the Trojan 41, Williams tossed a backwards pass to Pugh who found Flintroy open downfield as the second receiver on a "double pass" play at the Saint James 4.  A penalty pushed the ball back to the 9, but on the next play Pugh was rewarded with a 9 yard touchdown run.  A two point conversion run failed, but suddenly there was just a hint of uneasiness in Carlisle Field as Bullock County had suddently cut the lead to only 15 points at 34 - 19 with still over 2 minutes remaining on the clock.

A kickoff which certainly appeared to be headed out of bounds checked up deep in Trojan territory, and Saint James' Michael Shalayda was lucky to cradle the ball at the 11 yard line before Hornets arrived to capture the free kick.  At this time, Coach Perry thought it best to return the first string offense to the field, and on first down Amerson broke off one of the longest non-touchdown runs in Saint James history, an 82 yarder.  He avoided several tacklers about 30 yards downfield, another at the Hornet 30, and despite managing to stay on his feet into the endzone, another Hornet forced him to step one foot out of bounds at the 7 yard line.  Amerson darted through behind right tackle on the next play for the 7 yard touchdown, tying his career high set the previous season at Dale County with his fifth score of the game and ninth only three games into the season.  Wachowitz's extra point gave Saint James breathing room again with a 41 - 19 lead which would end up as the final score.

Bullock County attempted to score once more, but could only approach midfield as the horn sounded and Saint James won a 3A Region game for the first time since 1999, the last time Saint James varsity football was in the 3A classification.  The third of four consecutive home games loomed as old Capital City Conference foe Montgomery Academy, once again a Region opponent, was preparing to make their way to Carlisle Field the following Friday night.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME THREE

SAINT JAMES    RUSHING   39 attempts   299 yards   6 TDs   (7.67 yards per carry)

                                 2   Amerson            26 / 303  (5 TDs)        3   Gavin                5 /  38                  23   Craft             1 /  6
                                 8   Fett                      1 /     0                       5   Duncan             6 / - 48  (1 TD)  

                              PASSING     4 completions  7 attempts  0 INTs   91 yards  0 TDs

                                 5   Duncan               4 - 7 - 1    91 yards

                              RECEIVING

                                 4   Whisenhunt         2 / 57                         3   Gavin                1 / 20                    2   Amerson      1 / 14

                              TOTAL YARDS:  390

                              KICKS:      XP  5 / 6      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  7  (EZ,OB,57,45,OB,OB,54)    PUNTS:  2  (35,24)
                              KO RETURNS:  3  (22,0,1)                            PUNT RETURNS:   2  (1,3)
                              FIRST DOWNS:   18   (15 rushing, 3 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  6 / 9
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:   1 / 1
                              FUMBLES:  3, lost 2
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  - 2
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   6 / 35 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  22:41

BULLOCK CO     RUSHING    35 attempts  171 yards  2 TDs  (4.89 yards per carry)
                              PASSING       6 completions  16 attempts  0 INTs   83 yards  0 TDs
                              TOTAL YARDS:  254

                              KICKS:      XP  1 / 2      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 1
                              KICKOFFS:  4  (46,25,OB,50)                      PUNTS:  4  (12,45,37,31)
                              KO RETURNS:  3  (17,22,19)                       PUNT RETURNS:  1  (- 7)
                              FIRST DOWNS:  11  (9 rushing, 2 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:   3 / 11
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 4
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  6
                              FUMBLE RETURNS:  2  (0)
                              FUMBLES:  2, lost 0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  7 / 27
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:   25:19

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