2019 - GAME 9

  SAINT JAMES 48, @ Southside-Selma 14   
 
STJ           10     10     14     14           48

S   S            8       0       0       6            14
SCORING SUMMARY

STJ  (1)  10:14   Gavin 2 run                                               (Wachowitz kick)       7 -    0
S  S  (1)    7:51   Hatcher 8 run                                                 (Williams run)       7 -    8
STJ  (1)    0:26   Wachowitz 32 FG                                                                         10 -   8
STJ  (2)    5:13   Wachowitz 39 FG                                                                         13 -   8
STJ  (2)    1:00   Whisenhunt 15 pass from Fett                (Wachowitz kick)      20 -   8
STJ  (3)    9:28   Beard 38 pass from Fett                           (Wachowitz kick)      27 -   8
STJ  (3)    6:56   Gavin 9 run                                               (Wachowitz kick)      34 -   8
STJ  (4)    9:35   Beard 35 pass from Fett                          (Wachowitz kick)      41 -   8
STJ  (4)    2:00   C. Harrison 26 run                                 (H. Harrison kick)      48 -   8
S  S  (4)    0:33   Williams 5 run                                                   (pass failed)       48 - 14
October 24, 2019    Panther Stadium.    Game conditions:  Cloudy     Game Temperature:  70    Wind:  none

Saint James broke open a close game in the second quarter thanks to three turnovers, two of those interceptions by Collier Dean, one of which originated in the Panther endzone, and on a muffed punt as they cruised to a 48 - 14 (and yes, this is the correct score) over homestanding Southside-Selma.

With a threat of heavy rain on the originally scheduled date of Friday, October 25, this matchup was moved one day earlier - a rare Thursday Trojan contest.

Saint James won the coin toss, elected to receive, and promptly moved down the field scoring within two minutes.  Austin Gavin gave the Trojans great field position as he returned a short kickoff 35 yards to the Panther 41.  Two Gavin carries netted 5 yards, and on third down quarterback Drew Fett found a wide open receiver in Michael Shalayda for a 34 yard pass completion.  He was tackled just two yards short of the endzone, but Gavin finished the drive on the next play with his first of two rushing touchdowns.  The dependable Jan Wachowitz added his first of five consecutive successful extra points, and the Trojans were quickly up 7 - 0.

"Not so fast."  Southside's Maryon Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards himself to the 38 yard line.  Two plays later, Ernest Hatcher broke away for a 19 yard run, and a face mask penalty added 15 to the play giving the Panthers great field position.  Promising Panther freshman Keandre Williams  picked up 21 yards combined on the next two carries, and then Hatcher was rewarded with the final 8 yards for a touchdown.  Williams picked up two points on the conversion run, and Southside was perhaps unexpectedly ahead 8 - 7 not quite midway through the first quarter.

The first play of the next drive was highlighted by the first career carry of Trojan Ethan Beard, who picked up a modest four yards on what would be his only carry of the evening.  He would be heard from again later.  Michael Shalayda caught another 12 yard pass for a Saint James first down on the following drive, but an intentional grounding penalty stalled the advance, resulting in a Wilson Carter punt which pinned the Panthers at their own 9 yard line.  Southside could not convert a first down either in a game where the first two drives appeared neither team's offense could be stopped.  However, the Panther punt was downed at the Trojan 40, and Saint James had "changed" the field.  Alex Whisenhunt broke "loose" on a 29 shuffle pass to move the Trojans deep into Panther territory, but a pair of penalties and a sack slowed the drive.  Wachowitz was called on to convert a 32 yard field goal.  The low line drive kick cleared the uprights, and Saint James regained a lead they would not surrender at 10 - 8.

Southside began a long drive, eating well into the second quarter, thanks in great part to the first of three different Panther quarterbacks, Christopher Thomas.  His 40 yard pass to Trendarius Carter was followed by a pair of 10 yards runs by Thomas and Williams which placed the ball at the Trojan 15.  The defense stiffened, and on fourth down an endzone pass was intercepted by Collier Dean, who nimbly returned the ball to the 16 yard line, and a go-ahead score was thrashed.  A holding penalty however forced yet another punt which Carter boomed.  This time, however, the punt was muffed and was picked up by Saint James and carried to the endzone.  However, muffed punts cannot be advanced so Saint James was given possession of the ball at the Southside 23.  No first down could be converted, so Wachowitz once more was called in to attempt a 39 yard field goal this time, which easily cleared the hurdle, and the Trojan lead was now a still shaky 13 - 8 midway through the second period.

The Panthers approached midfield on their next drive, but ended once more on a fourth down interception by Dean who returned this ball to the Southside 35.  Saint James quickly responded as Brock Woodham began the drive with a 14 yard carry.  After a false start penalty, Gavin raced 11 yards to the Trojan 15 setting up a fourth down and 4.  Fett found a wide open Alex Whisenhunt on the near sidelines for a 15 yard catch and run touchdown.  The extra point gave Saint James some breathing room with a 20 - 8 lead with only a minute remaining until halftime.  But the short time did not stop the Panthers from threatening a late score.  A block in the back penalty on the kickoff return, perhaps fortunately for the Trojans, pushed the ball back to the 10 yard line.  Consecutive sweeps by Williams moved the ball out to the Panther 27, and an incomplete pass stopped the clock with 18 seconds remaining.  Thomas lofted a pass to Johnson for 25 yards to the Trojan 48 and the clock was stopped with 8.7 seconds remaining.  Thomas then lofted a desperation pass which was pulled in by Williams who was dragged down by Trojan defenders at the 6 yard line.  The clock stopped momentarily for the first down, at 0.8 seconds.  The Panthers had a timeout available but did not use it, and the clock expired before Southside could line up and attempt a legitimate touchdown chance, resulting in the 20 - 8 halftime margin.

Desperation mode appeared to have set in for Southside, who frankly had nothing to lose, as they tried to convert a fourth and two from their own 37 yard line on the opening drive of the third quarter.  Hatcher was stuffed for a one yard loss and Saint James had possession with good field position.  Two plays netted a loss of a yard, but on third down Fett tossed a post pattern to Ethan Beard, who nicely grabbed the pass for a 38 yard touchdown on his first career reception.  The extra point raised the lead to 27 - 8.

Trouble continued for the Panthers on the next drive as a punt attempt was smothered by "a host of Trojans".  The punt was recovered by the intended punter Thomas, but the ball once again turned over on downs, as it did six of seven fourth down attempts for Southside in this game, and from the 25 plus yard line it was Austin Gavin time.  Four consecutive runs of 2, 4, 10, and 9 earned Gavin his second touchdown of the game, and Saint James could breathe more comfortably with a 34 - 8 third quarter advantage.

A muff on the kickoff and a negative return gave Southside poor field position at their own 3 yard line.  However, they used up the remaining seven minutes of the third quarter on a methodical drive, guided by Hatcher who had been moved into the quarterback slot for short passes and primarily keepers and sweeps advancing the possession as deep as the Saint James 26.  On the first play of the fourth quarter, however, the third quarterback Chavatis Sanders was brought in and his short pass was incomplete, once more turning the ball over on downs.  Cosner Harrison picked up a toughly nice 17 yards on the first play, and then three consecutive Gavin rushes of 5, 5, and 12 yards earned Saint James first down at the Panther 35.  On first down, Fett tossed his third touchdown pass (third such occurrence this season), once again to a wide open Beard down the middle, and the Trojan lead increased to 41 - 8 after Wachowitz's fifth and final extra point of the evening.

Yet another Panther drive was stopped by an interception, with Brock Woodham this time the able recipient.  His return set the Trojan offensive reserves up with great field position at the Panther 35.  However, a lost fumble on second down returned possession to Southside.  Four plays later, "another Panther drive" was stopped for an unsuccessful fourth down attempt.  After benefiting from a mysterious four yard gain resetting the chains, Clayton Craft was credited with 9 yards on a pair of consecutive runs.  On third down, on what appeared to be a busted play, quarterback Cosner Harrison decided to keep the football and after several nifty moves at the line of scrimmage saw him slither into the secondary, he broke free for a 26 yard touchdown.  Holt Harrison was called on to convert the final extra point, which he did, one of several kicks which hit the roof of the Panther concession stand and bounced over out of the field of play - giving Saint James a 48 - 8 lead (although the scoreboard showed an incorrect 49).

Southside did mount a late touchdown drive against the defensive reserves as Sanders moved the ball via pass and run to the Trojan 30.  Keandre Williams runs of 4 and 21 yards led to him being rewarded with a 5 yard touchdown with 33 seconds remaining in the game.  A two point conversion pass failed, and the game ended, thankfully dryly with the most elusive of small raindrops late, and Saint James with a 48 - 14 victory and a second place regional finish.  That night it was determined the Oakman Wildcats would be their first round playoff opponent in two weeks.  However, before the playoffs began, it was another group of Wildcats, Trinity, who would invade Carlisle Field in the 2019 regular season finale in a game where quite possibly Trojan football history would be made.  After the conclusion of the Panther matchup, the Trojans had scored 9,991 points.  Therefore, whomever would score the ninth point upcoming would be the permanent holder of the 10,000th point plateau.  Fitting, perhaps, on Senior Night 2019 which would be eight (not seven) nights away.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME NINE

SAINT JAMES    RUSHING   33 attempts   177 yards   3 TDs   (5.36 yards per carry)

                                 3   Gavin               16 / 80  (2 TDs)     5   Harrison            4 / 43  (1 TD)    44   Woodham           5 / 35
                               23   Craft                  3 /   9                    4   Whisenhunt       1/    6                   2   Beard                  1 /  4
                                 8   Fett                     2 /   4                 27   Sadie                 1 / - 4

                              PASSING      6 completions  12 attempts  163 yards   0 INTs   3 TDs

                                8   Fett                    6 - 12 - 0   163 yards  3 TDs

                              RECEIVING

                                2   Beard                 2 / 73  (2 TDs)   87   Shalayda           2 / 46                4   Whisenhunt           2 / 44  (1 TD)

                              TOTAL YARDS:  340

                              KICKS:      XP  6 / 6      FG   2 / 2  (32, 39 made)
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  9 (52,53,39,53,52,45,48,42,55)          PUNTS:  2  (41,47)
                              KO RETURNS:  3  (35,13,0)                                   PUNT RETURNS:   0
                              FIRST DOWNS:   14  (10 rushing, 4 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:   4 / 9
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                              FUMBLES:  1, lost 1
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  + 3
                              INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  3  (16,19,31)
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  10
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   8 / 76 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  20:34

SOUTHSIDE        RUSHING    41 attempts  191 yards  2 TDs  (4.66 yards per carry)
                              PASSING        9 completions  27 attempts  3 INTs   181 yards  0 TDs
                              TOTAL YARDS:  372

                              KICKS:      XP  0 / 0      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  1 / 2
                              KICKOFFS:  3  (36.36.22)                                       PUNTS:  2  (28, bk-10)
                              KO RETURNS:  9  (30,17,11,13,22,16,-9,13,15)    PUNT RETURNS:  0
                              FIRST DOWNS:  19  (12 rushing, 6 passing, 1 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  3 / 12
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 7
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              FUMBLES:  5, lost 1
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  2 / 15 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  27:26

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