2019 -
GAME 4
SAINT JAMES 26, @ Montgomery Academy 7 
M A
0
7
0 0
7
SCORING SUMMARY
STJ (1) 6:45 Gavin 64
run
(Wachowitz kick) 7 - 0
STJ (2) 11:27 Whisenhunt 24
run
(Wachowitz kick) 14 - 0
M A (2) 8:31 Main 29 pass from
B.
Kohn
(A. Kohn kick) 14 - 7
STJ (3) 9:34 Whisenhunt
53
run
(kick
deflected) 20 - 7
STJ (3) 0:02 Gavin 16
run
(run
failed) 26 - 7
September 13, 2019.
McLemore Field. Game Conditions: Mostly
clear, very hot Game Temperature:
95 Wind: None
The Saint James defense held the potent
Montgomery Academy offense scoreless in the second half, allowing
the Eagles only one passing completion (3 yards) while the Trojans
intercepted 3 passes of their own. Austin Gavin and Alex
Whisenhunt each rushed for well over 100 yards as the offense
grinded drives keeping the M A offense on the sidelines as the
Trojans won their second consecutive road game, broke a school
record with a thirteenth (on Friday the 13th, mind you)
consecutive regular season victory, and defeated Montgomery
Academy for the third consecutive year with a 26 - 7 victory.
For the first time in many games Saint James did not start with
the football as Montgomery Academy won the opening coin toss and
chose to receive. However, the Eagles could not earn a first
down and a short punt gave the Trojans first down on the Eagle
39. A fumbled snap on the first drive led to a turnover, the
first of three lost fumbles for Saint James, and the Eagles
retained possession at their own 47. A 16 yard pass on first
down from Britton Kohn to Nigel Walker moved the ball into Trojan
terriory, and a pass interference penalty gave the Eagles another
first down at the Trojan 13. On the next play, the Eagles
returned the favor and a ball was stripped loose and recovered by
Bennett Blankenship at the 11 yard line.
The Trojans would start an 89 yard march for the first score of
the game all on five consecutive rushes by Austin Gavin, who
earned a career high 240 yards on the night. The rushes were
of 3,5,16 (a key third down conversion), 1, and the breakaway for
64 yards and a touchdown. Jan Wachowitz's extra point gave
Saint James a 7 - 0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The next three drives were three and outs, but Saint James earned
the field position advantage by taking over on the Eagle 49.
Drew Fett converted a key 14 yard pass to Michael Shalayda to
extend the drive. Later, on fourth down and 2 on the Eagle
24, Alex Whisenhunt, who also easily earned a career high in
rushing with 142 yards, broke through the line and met no
resistance against the short yardage defense on his way to a 24
yard touchdown. Wachowitz doubled the lead to 14 - 0 on the
second play of the second quarter.
Montgomery Academy was again forced to punt, but once more on the
first play of a drive the Trojans fumbled the ball away, this time
deep in Eagles territory. From the 34 yard line, an offside
penalty moved the ball to the 29. On first down, Kohn looked
and found a wide open Mac Main down the middle of the field for a
29 yard catch and run touchdown. Alex Kohn's extra point
gave Saint James a 'threatened' feeling for the first time in
several games as the lead was cut to 14 - 7.
The momentum seemed to have swayed completely toward the Eagles as
the Trojans punted after yet another three and out. Wilson
Carter's deep punt was fielded by Lawson Pemberton at his own 16
yard line and after resisting the first line of Trojan pursuers,
he broke through traffic and dashed down the far sidelines on what
appeared to be an 84 yard punt return for a touchdown and a point
short of a tie game. However, an Eagle was flagged for
unsportmanlike conduct for rushing the field before the goal line
was crossed and the touchdown was nullified, bringing the ball all
the way back to the Trojan 41 - a play that turned the entire
direction of the remainder of the game. A holding penalty
several plays later forced a punt which pinned the Trojans at
their own 8 yard line. Nevertheless, the Trojans ran out the
clock, all 5:27 of it, overcoming a personal foul penalty along
the way to earn a first down on a Gavin 12 yard run, and the score
remained 14 - 7 at halftime.
Saint James began the second half with an equally rare first
offensive possession, and despite some grief on the kickoff
return, the Trojans traveled 86 yards for another touchdown.
Whisenhunt caught an 8 yard pass from Fett to convert the key
first first down of the drive. On the next play from the 24,
Gavin broke loose on another long run where he would be brought
down just short of the Eagles 10 yard line. However, perhaps
amazingly, Saint James was called for the same penalty Montgomery
Academy was on the failed punt return touchdown, unsportsmanlike
conduct on the sidelines. The penalty ate up most of the
long run, negating what could have been a 300+ yard rushing night
for Gavin, and the ball was marched back all the way to the Eagle
47. No problem. On the next play Whisenhunt took the
ball on a sweep and after eluding the first few tacklers, raced
down the sidelines for a 53 yard touchdown. The extra point
was deflected and wobbled short and left, but momentum was back on
the Trojans sidelines as the white-shakered student section and
band loudly proclaimed as Saint James was now up 20 - 7 early in
the third quarter.
On first down from the Eagle 30, Kohn completed a 3 yard pass to
William Robertson. Surprisingly, it would be the only pass
completion, to an Eagle, for the remainder of the game as the
Trojan pass defense shone brightly. Kohn on the next play,
however, called his own number around left end and found plenty of
yardage, 40 yards worth, before being forced out of bounds at the
Trojan 27. He carried again on the next play for 6 yards,
and a personal foul face mask penalty advanced the ball halfway to
the goal line as the Eagles were quickly threatening to cut the
lead. After a short gain, Kohn attempted a pass at the goal
line but it was intercepted by Brock Woodham, on what would be the
first of three second half interceptions, who muscled his way out
to the 8 yard line and the scoring threat was nixed. Gavin
and Whisenhunt shared the rushing load as the Trojans used up half
of the third quarter clock to methodically plod to midfield.
However, a sack eventually stalled the drive, and Carter was
called on again to pin the Eagles with a punt which he did, at the
9 yard line. On the next play, Kohn attempted a sideline
pass which was intercepted on a wonderful jump and arm stretch and
retain of control after hitting the ground by Turner Davis, who
had caught a touchdown pass the previous week, and the Trojans
were quickly in business once more at the Eagle 20.
Consecutive Gavin runs of 4 and 16 yards put another 6 points on
the Trojan scoreboard. A two point conversion run came up
short, but now Trojan fans were breathing easier and celebrating
harder as the score, which would eventually be the final, was 26 -
7 late in the third quarter.
The Eagles moved into Trojan territory on their next drive, all by
the run and with great help from a defensive holding
penalty. However, an Eagle unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
on the field several plays later cost MA valuable yardage.
On third and long, a Kohn pass was tipped and caught by Bennett
Blankenship, his second turnover recovery of the evening, and the
Trojans were prepared to run clock with just over 10 minutes
remaining in the game. A fumble and a fortuitous Eagle
bounce backwards four plays into the drive gave MA another chance
to tally points. Runs by Jamal Cooper pushed the ball down
to the Trojan 11 for a first down, but four plays later an
incomplete pass turned the ball back over to Saint James, once
again deep in their own territory.
It was the last offensive snap the Eagles would take in a second
half where they barely had 5½ minutes of possession.
Whisenhunt piled on the carries, if not the yardage, and Fett
converted a key first down on a keeper himself as Saint James ran
out the final 5:27 of game clock on their way to a nearly 400 yard
rushing onslaught and a 2 - 0 record in 3A Region 2 play as they
prepared to travel for the first time ever in a football sense to
Dadeville, another region team which had started a surprising 0 -
2, losing to two of what were generally considered the lower
echelon of regional teams. At the end of the game, the
powder exploded and was more thick the Saint James grill smoke
when the wind blew just that right way as team, cheerleaders, and
supporters all celebrated on McLemore field after the victory.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME FOUR
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 61 attempts
393 yards 4 TDs (6.44
yards per carry)
3
Gavin
33 / 240 (2
TDs)
4
Whisenhunt
21 / 142 (2 TDs)
27
Sadie
3 /
21
8
Fett
4 / - 10
PASSING
3
completions 5 attempts 0 INTs 28 yards
8
Fett
3 - 5 - 0 28 yards
RECEIVING
4
Whisenhunt
2 /
14
87
Shalayda
1 / 14
TOTAL
YARDS: 421
KICKS: XP 2 / 3
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 5
(42,54,52,39,46)
PUNTS: 3 (31,42,41)
KO RETURNS: 2 (6,3)
PUNT RETURNS:
2 (0fc,0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 17 (16 rushing, 1 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 9 / 15
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
FUMBLES: 3, lost 3
FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 3 (8,0,0)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 13
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 9 / 84 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 31:08
MONT
ACAD RUSHING 21
attempts 120 yards 0 TDs (5.71 yards per
carry)
PASSING
8 completions 18 attempts 3 INTs 63
yards 1 TD
TOTAL
YARDS: 193
KICKS: XP 1 / 1
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS:
0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 2
(29,49)
PUNTS: 5 (20,46,31,34,38)
KO
RETURNS: 5 (5,9,20,9,23)
PUNT RETURNS:
1 (58 before penalty)
FIRST
DOWNS: 9 (4 rushing, 2 passing, 3 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 9
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
1, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 7 / 60 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 16:52
RETURN TO THE SAINT JAMES 2019 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE