2018 -
GAME 8
SAINT JAMES 42, @ Prattville Christian 0 
PCA
0 0
0 0
0
SCORING SUMMARY
STJ (1) 10:45 Amerson 7
run
(Wachowitz kick) 7 - 0
STJ (1) 7:20
Duncan 56
run
(Wachowitz kick) 14 - 0
STJ (1) 3:34
Amerson 73 run
(Wachowitz kick) 21 - 0
STJ (2) 9:18
Amerson 80 run
(Wachowitz kick) 28 - 0
STJ (2) 2:55
Amerson 7
run
(Wachowitz kick) 35 - 0
STJ (3) 8:59 Craft
38
run
(Wachowitz kick) 42 - 0
October 19,
2018 Panther Stadium. Game
Conditions: Mostly cloudy, humid
Game Temperature: 74 Wind: light
and variable
Saint James scored four touchdowns in its first ten offensive
plays and Tony Amerson racked up another 224 yards and four
touchdowns of his own on only 11 first half carries, continuing to
obliterate his own career rushing yardage record (now at 4522)
while nearing a new season rushing yardage record (less than 100
away) as well. The Trojans only ran 34 offensive plays on
the evening, but six of those were touchdowns as Saint James
clinched their eighth all-time region or area championship (third
in five years) as they soundly defeated first time opponent
Prattville Christian 42 - 0 in Panther Stadium.
A nice kickoff return by Brock Woodham to start the game gave the
Trojans immediate fine field position at the center stripe.
Amerson carried for 10 on first down, Colin Duncan completed a
pass (one of only two he would attempt) to Alex Whisenhunt for 33
yards, and Amerson took the next handoff up the middle for a quick
7 yard touchdown only 75 seconds into the game. Jan
Wachowitz hit the first of six extra points to extend his
consecutive streak to 15 made, and Saint James was quickly up 7 -
0.
The Panthers were lucky to maintain possession as a short kickoff
was muffed but recovered by D.J. Hadden just outside the Panther
20. Despite a Trojan offside penalty, the Panthers could not
convert a first down and a punt went out of bounds at the Saint
James 44. Austin Gavin was stopped for no gain on first
down, but then Duncan called his own number on second down and
found a hole up the middle, broke through the drawn in secondary,
and outrushed pursuers for a 56 yard touchdown. The extra
point doubled the lead to 14 - 0 not even halfway through the
first quarter.
Prattville Christian picked up one of its four game first downs on
the next drive, an 11 yard carry by Preston Cox which matched the
longest running play of the Panther evening. However,
another punt was forced which went out of bounds at the Trojan
23. Amerson picked up 4 yards on a hard fought first down,
and then broke free similarly to the way Duncan had on the
previous drive as he raced 73 yards for his second touchdown of
the evening, pulling away from Panthers in the process. The
Wachowitz extra point gave Saint James a 21 point lead after
running only 7 offensive plays - gaining 183 yards in the process.
Saint James forced yet another punt before the end of the first
quarter. Amerson raced for 12 on the first play of the
second quarter of the first down, but then a Duncan pass was
intercepted by Hadden and returned to the Trojan 39, giving
Prattville Christian some hope. It would be one of the few
times they even threatened to score as a first down could not be
converted and a punt traveled into the endzone. Amerson made
the Panthers pay on first down as he took a handoff and 17 seconds
he was in the endzone once more with a career-tying long 80 yard
touchdown run. Wachowitz's extra point gave Saint James a
four touchdown lead less than 15 minutes into the game.
The teams traded punts as the Trojans began substituting on
defense. However, Saint James won the field battle as
Duncan's punt pinned the Panthers back at their own 14 yard
line. A defensive offside penalty was followed by an
incomplete pass, and then Prattville Christian quarterback Ethan
Jones tossed an interception to Whisenhunt, one of the offensive
stars of the previous week, and Alex returned the ball to the
Panther 10 yard line. From there, consecutive Amerson
carries of 3 and 7 had him in the endzone for a fourth time and a
quick rest after only 11 carries. Wachowitz's extra point
boosted the lead to 35 - 0 and many of the offensive starters got
the remainder of the game to rest up.
The Panthers had to punt again, one of eight on the evening, but
an already sporadically running clock meant Saint James only had
to down the ball once to end the first half as Prattville
Christian presented a touching Military Appreciation performance
at halftime which both sides loudly cheered.
The second half moved very quickly, with the football game
completing well before 9:00 PM despite the full length
halftime. Prattville Christian punted after their first
possession stalled and Woodham returned a muffed punt 31 yards
from the Trojan 31 to the Panther 38. The second string
offense took the field, and it took one play for them to score
again. Clayton Craft took the opening handoff and did his
best Amerson impression running 38 yards for the sixth and final
Trojan touchdown. The Wachowitz kick, again his fifteenth
consecutive make, wrapped up the scoring at 42 - 0.
A face mask penalty on the kickoff return helped jump start what
would be Prattville Christian's best drive of the evening.
After two first downs, the Panthers drove as deep as the Trojan
11, but consecutive incomplete passes turned the ball back over to
Saint James. Neither team accomplished much on offense the
remainder of the game on again a sporadically running clock.
In fact, Saint James ran out the final 5:47 of the game on only 8
plays, the last 3 which were kneeldowns by backup quarterback Drew
Fett. The 42 - 0 win sealed the Region championship for
Saint James, which has won 29 of its last 33 region games dating
back to the final region game of the 2014 season. The team,
with only six seniors, would look forward to the final regular
season home game - Senior Night - against another group of
Panthers from Southside-Selma, a team which the Trojans battled
last in the early 2000s.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME EIGHT
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 32
attempts 340 yards
6 TDs (10.63 yards per
carry)
2
Amerson 11 /
224 (4 TDs) 23
Craft
9 / 58 (1 TD) 5
Duncan
2 / 58 (1 TD)
8
Fett
7 /
4
3
Gavin
2 / -
2
14
Harris
1 / - 2
PASSING
1 completions 2 attempts 33 yards 1 INT
0 TDs
5
Duncan
1 - 2 - 1 33 yards
RECEIVING
4
Whisenhunt 1 /
33
TOTAL
YARDS: 373
KICKS: XP 6 / 6
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 7
(43,42,42,OB,42,44,46) PUNTS:
3 (38,52,23)
KO RETURNS: 1 (34)
PUNT
RETURNS: 2 (21,31)
FIRST
DOWNS: 11 (10 rushing, 1 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 5
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
FUMBLE
RETURNS: 1 (0)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (15)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 4 / 40 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 19:34
P C A
RUSHING 33 attempts 81 yards 0
TDs (2.45 yards per carry)
PASSING
3 completions 10 attempts 1 INT 20
yards 0 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 101
KICKS: XP 0 / 0
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 1
(49)
PUNTS: 8 (29,31,45,40EZ,38,22,34,42)
KO
RETURNS: 6 (4,12,7,18,19.11)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 4 (3 rushing, 1 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 10
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (5)
FUMBLES:
3, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 1 / 5 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 28:26
RETURN TO THE SAINT JAMES 2018 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE