The size and speed of the
visiting Pike Road Patriots was too much for the homestanding
Trojans as wide receivers were making fine catches on tough
passes, and the Patriots running game finally got going late
in the second half as the Trojans tried mightily, but could
defeat the first time varsity visitors from Pike Road as the
Patriots continued their undefeated season with a 35 - 24
victory over Saint James.
Pike Road started with the first possession and quickly moved
deep into Saint James territory with a 45 yard pass completion
to Blake Durham down to the Trojan 36. However, four
plays later, quarterback Baron Brack was sacked and fumbled
and the Trojans recovered on what would be the only turnover
of the game, albeit on fourth down. The Trojans began a
methodical 61 yard drive, primarily on the legs of Austin
Gavin and Alex Whisenhunt. On the twelfth play of the
drive, all rushes, quarterback Drew Fett carried over from the
one on a quarterback sneak and, after a Jan Wachowitz extra
point, Saint James had a 7 - 0 lead late in the first quarter.
It took the Patriots about three game clock minutes to even
the score. Several plays after a nice kickoff return,
Bryce Kelly caught a 32 yard pass advancing the ball to the
Trojan 27. Later, Quinshon Judkins was on the end of a
15 yard touchdown pass from Brack and Aubrey Grace's extra
point tied the game at 7 in the last minute of the first
quarter.
Saint James responded with a field goal on their next
drive. On the opening play of the second quarter, Andrew
Sadie caught a 37 yard pass tossed by Fett which advanced the
ball to the Pike Road 30. The drive stalled, but
Wachowitz was called in to attempt a 43 yard field goal, a
career long if successful. The kick was a line drive,
likely never reaching more than 20 feet off the ground, but it
managed to soar above the crossbar and the Trojans had
regained the lead at 10 - 7.
The Patriots had penalty issues on their next drive and could
earn no more than one first down to start the drive. The
Trojans committed no accepted penalties on their following
drive, and a short punt gave the Patriots a first down at
their own 47. It took only one play for Pike Road to
retake the lead as Bryce Kelly, previous week's regional star
player, outheighted a Trojan defender for a 53 yard touchdown
catch. The extra point gave Pike Road a 14 - 10 lead
with still nearly seven minutes until halftime.
After an endzone kickoff, it took Saint James only 6 plays to
respond on an 80 yard drive. Three runs by Whisenhunt
and Gavin advanced the ball to the 36 yard line. After
the mandatory heat time out, Whisenhunt bolted down the far
sideline for a 44 yard gain on what was originally thought to
be a run, but was indeed similar to a shovel pass - a forward
toss by Fett, and the Trojans were in business at the Pike
Road 20. Sadie on a rare carry on the next play found a
hole up the middle and was tackled just short of the goal line
for a 19 yard gain. On the next play, Fett duplicated
his previous one yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown.
The extra point gave Saint James their 3 point lead back, at
17 - 14.
Pike Road quickly responded. Kelly returned the ensuing
kickoff from just outside the goal line back to the Trojan 35,
narrowly missing a 99 yard kickoff return touchdown.
After a no gain run, Brack tossed a pass to Durham who was
tackled just short of the goal line, and on the next play
Judkins picked up his second touchdown of the game with a 1
yard carry. Grace's extra point was again perfect, as
were all 9 attempted place kicks in the game, and the Patriots
benefited from the fourth lead change of the quarter to move
ahead 21 - 17. Neither team would venture into the
other's territory for the remainder of the half, and the
Patriots took their four point lead into the locker room after
a rather lengthy first half.
Saint James had the first possession of the second half and
embarked on a grueling 17 play drive to travel 80 yards which
ate up almost 9 minutes of the third quarter clock. It
appeared the Trojans would be stopped on a three and out deep
in their own territory, but a costly running into the kicker
penalty converted a fourth and four into a first down to
extend the drive. From the 33, the new fresh legs of
Brock Woodham took center stage as he received five straight
handoffs from Fett. The gains of 8, 8, 9, 0, and 4
pushed the ball into Patriot territory, and then Whisenhunt
caught a conventional pass from Fett for another 19 yards down
to the Patriot 19. Woodham was brought back in to
convert a fourth and 1 from the 10, which he did on a 6 yard
carry. After an encroachment penalty, Whisenhunt earned
the longest Trojan touchdown of the night on a 2 yard run, and
the Wachowitz extra point returned the lead to the Trojans at
24 - 21. Unfortunately, it would be their final tally of
the evening.
The Patriot rushing game, which was held to only 9 yards in
the first half, finally got moving against the Trojan defense
after an out of bounds kickoff. Mixed in with several
short range passes, the Patriots advanced to the Trojan
26. After a penalty, Brack lifted a pass toward the near
sidelines while his receiver Durham ran a post route resulting
in a throw 25 yards away from anyone downfield. On the
next play however, quarterback and receiver tried the same
play with much more success as again Durham outheighted a
smaller Trojan defender for a 31 yard touchdown catch.
The extra point gave the Patriots the lead for good at 28 - 24
late in the third quarter.
The Trojans were stopped on their next drive, and despite a
long run by former Trojan C.J. Paymon being cut into by an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Pike Road rushed for the
game-clinching touchdown on their first drive of the fourth
quarter. Paymon picked up 23 yards after the penalty
markoff to advance the ball to the Trojan 23, and after
another Paymon 3 yard carry, quarterback Baron Brack was
looking for his fourth touchdown pass of the game.
However, he could not find an open receiver but saw running
room up the middle as he dashed 20 yards into the endzone for
the final touchdown of the game. Grace's fifth extra
point made the score what would eventually be the final, 35 -
24, with still 9 minutes remaining in the game.
Three consecutive three and out drives followed, two by the
Trojans, as they could not muster any fourth quarter offense
against the onrushing Patriots. Judkins picked up two
first downs in the late minutes for Pike Road as the Trojans
could not regain possession and the Patriots walked out of
Carlisle Field with control of 3A Region 3 in their
pockets. However, the Trojans still had much to play
for, including that key first round home playoff game with
three consecutive region games upcoming, the next two at home,
against Beulah and Prattville Christian, Homecoming 2019.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME SIX
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 49
attempts 143 yards
3 TDs (2.92
yards per carry)
3
Gavin
24 /
81
44
Woodham
11 / 43 27
Sadie
1 / 19
4
Whisenhunt
6 / 18 (1 TD) 5
Harrison
1 / 1
8
Fett
6 / - 19 (2 TDs)
PASSING
4 completions 7 attempts 133 yards 0
INTs 0 TDs
8
Fett
4 - 7 - 0 133 yards
RECEIVING
4 Whisenhunt
2 / 73
27 Sadie
1 / 37
3 Gavin
1 / 3
TOTAL
YARDS: 276
KICKS: XP 3 / 3
FG 1 / 1 (43 made)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5
(EZ,50,52,59,OB)
PUNTS: 5
(11,36,33,33,52)
KO RETURNS: 2 (15,11)
PUNT RETURNS:
1 (0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 17 (13 rushing, 3 passing, 1
penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 6 / 14
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 2
FUMBLES: 0
FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 2 / 10 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 28:01
PIKE ROAD
RUSHING 30
attempts 111 yards 2 TDs (3.70 yards per
carry)
PASSING
12 completions 18 attempts 0 INTs 259
yards 3 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 370
KICKS: XP 5 / 5
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 6 (61,EZ,EZ,EZ,54,EZ)
PUNTS: 3 (40,45,30)
KO
RETURNS: 3 (34,13,64)
PUNT
RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 18 (9 rushing, 9 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 5 /
9
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
1, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 10 / 74 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 19:59
Pike Road 35, Saint James 24 