2019 - GAME 10

  SAINT JAMES 14, Trinity 7    
TPS          0       0       7       0             7
 
STJ          0       0      14      0           14
SCORING SUMMARY

TPS  (3)    8:07   Holley 1 run                                          (Adams kick)     0 - 7
STJ  (3)    5:34   Blankenship 3 pass from Fett       (Wachowitz kick)     7 - 7
STJ  (3)    5:21   Sadie 13 interception return         (Wachowitz kick)   14 - 7
November 1, 2019   Carlisle Field.  SENIOR NIGHT    Game Conditions:  Mostly clear, cold     Game Temperature:  55    Wind:  none (thankfully)
 

"What a game!"   Saint James squandered several scoring chances, often created by Trojan-generated turnovers, but Andrew Sadie made a historic interception and scored on a pick six just 13 seconds after the Trojans had come from behind to tie Trinity in a game where all points were scored in the third quarter.  The Trojans finished their second consecutive 9 - 1 regular season, and their third in four years as they wrapped up another co-Capital City Conference championship with a very thrilling and satisfying 14 - 7 victory over the Wildcats to complete the 2019 regular season.

Trinity won the coin toss and deferred their choice.  Austin Gavin picked up 10 yards on the first Trojan scrimmage play, which would tie for his longest run of the evening, but after Alex Whisenhunt caught a 9 yard pass from Drew Fett on the next play, the Saint James offense stalled and a nice punt by Wilson Carter pinned the Wildcats at their own 19.  The Wildcats were forced into a three and out, and on fourth down a punt was blocked by Clayton Craft and recovered by Carter at the Trinity 15.  A Gavin run several plays later gave Saint James first down at the Wildcat 2, but the Trinity defense stood tall, keeping the Trojans out of the end zone on four consecutive running plays and the momentum turned in their favor.

The teams traded punts in what would be a hard-hitting defensive first half.  Brock Woodham, with help from the previous week's defensive star Collier Dean, intercepted a John David Bonner pass on the final play of the first quarter.  However, neither team could even cross midfield until a Saint James punt, the fifth of the first half, gave the Wildcats first down at the Trojan 47 with under two minutes remaining.  Bonner ran for 12 yards to move Trinity closer, but on the next play Woodham again intercepted a pass on a diving catch and Saint James merely ran out the clock after an unusually swift first half with surprisingly no scores.

Hold everything!  The scores came fast and furious, relatively, to start the third quarter.  Trinity used a good kickoff return by Mac McClinton to reach the 36 yard line.  A defensive face mask penalty, the first penalty of the game, quickly pushed the Wildcats into Trojan territory.  Bonner found several of his favorite receivers on short passes, including a miraculous scramble on a third down play before he connected with Jake Hufham on a 16 yard pass to keep the drive alive.  Three plays later, Bonner called his own number on a 7 yard keeper down to the Trojan 1, and on the next play Tate Holley powered over for the first score of the game.  Luke Adams' extra point gave Trinity a 7 - 0 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

A roughing the kicker penalty on the extra point moved the kickoff to the Saint James 45, but it probably would not have mattered as Adams boomed the kickoff through the endzone anyway.  The Trojans, however, quickly responded with an 80 yard touchdown drive of their own.  On the second play of the drive, Fett looked for his newest receiving threat, Ethan Beard, who raced down the middle of the field and literally wrestled away a pass reception from a Wildcat defender while racing 64 yards on a long catch and run giving Saint James first and 10 at the Trinity 15.  Two runs by first half defensive hero Brock Woodham netted eight yards, and Gavin converted the key third down with a 5 yard run to the Trinity 2.  Gavin was knocked back on a first down rush, but Fett called a flat pass for Bennett Blankenship who was wide open and carried the reception for a 3 yard touchdown.  Jan Wachowitz's extra point tied the game at 7 and quickly shifted the momentum back to the Trojan side.

The ensuing kickoff was muffed out of bounds, and the Wildcats were pinned deep just outside their 10 yard line.  On first down, Bonner attempted a similar flat pass to the previous Trojan touchdown, but the pass went right into the arms of an awaiting Andrew Sadie at the 13 yard line and he raced into the endzone for a touchdown just 13 seconds after the Blankenship score, and the Trojans sideline erupted.  The play on its own will be remembered in any discussion about the Saint James - Trinity rivalry, but this one was doubly special as the "second point" of the touchdown was the Trojans' 10,000th point in varsity football history, a feat which will never again be duplicated and forever tied to Andrew Sadie's memorable pick six.  Wachowitz's extra point would give Saint James a 7 point lead to erase the 7 point deficit they were facing literally just seconds ago, but no one suspected that would be the final score of a game with over 17 minutes remaining.

A defensive holding penalty on the next drive gave the Wildcats first down at their own 30, and a deflected pass reception would earn them another first down, but a holding penalty on a sack cost Trinity 16 yards which led to a punt near the end of the quarter.  Saint James began another sustained drive.  Turner Davis, one of the 17 senior football players celebrated on Senior Night, earned a first down with an 11 yard reception on the opening play of the fourth quarter.  A 13 yard reception by Michael Shalayda and a 10 yard Gavin run gave the Trojans first down on the Trinity 20.  However, the drive stalled and Wachowitz was called on to attempt a 39 yard field goal, which drifted just wide - his first field goal miss of the season, and the Wildcats were still within 7 but clock time was evaporating.

Three consecutive incomplete passes led to yet another Wildcat punt, and the Trojans appeared to be on what looked like a game-clinching drive.  Six consecutive runs by Gavin pushed the ball down to the 30, and on fourth down Fett called his own number to convert the first down at the Trinity 30.  A dead ball personal foul penalty was marked off, albeit a bit short of the intended yardage, to the Wildcat 17.  Gavin's 4 yard gain and Cosner Harrison's 5 yard rush up the middle forced Trinity to begin calling timeouts.  An offside penalty gave Saint James a first down at the Trinity 4, but a mishandled hand off two plays later led to a fumble, the first Trojan turnover of the game, and the Wildcats had a pulse with possession under 2 minutes remaining needing to travel 96 yards.  William Roberson picked up 17 yards on a first down reception to give the Wildcats breathing room, and receptions on the next two plays quickly moved the ball to midfield with still over a minute remaining.  James Handey picked up 10 yards on the next play to the Saint James 40.  Now it was time for the Trojan defense to stiffen.  After an incomplete pass, the secondary forced Bonner to scramble.  Michael Shalayda grabbed Bonner from behind and forced a fumble which was pounced upon by Bradley Woodham and the celebration began as Saint James ran out the final seconds on the way to another 9 - 1 season, the third in four calendar years, as the playoffs loomed.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME TEN

SAINT JAMES    RUSHING   48 attempts   100 yards   0 TDs   (2.08 yards per carry)

                                3   Gavin                31 / 95       44   Woodham       3 / 13      5   Harrison           4 / 12
                                4   Whisenhunt        2 / - 3         2   Beard              1 / - 4      8   Fett                 7 / - 13

                              PASSING     8 completions  10 attempts  0 INTs  115 yards  1 TD

                                8   Fett                   8 - 10 - 0  115 yards  1 TD

                              RECEIVING

                                2   Beard                 2 / 65        21   Blankenship   2 / 16  (1 TD)   87   Shalayda        1 / 13
                              84   Davis                 1 / 11          4   Whisenhunt     1 /  9                27   Sadie              1 /   1

                              TOTAL YARDS:  215

                              KICKS:      XP  2 / 2      FG   0 / 1  (39 missed)
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  3  (50,49,49)                               PUNTS:  5  (43,38,40,38,33)
                              KO RETURNS:  0                                            PUNT RETURNS:   4  (0,3,0fc,0)
                              FIRST DOWNS:   13  (7 rushing, 5 passing, 1 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  7 / 15
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 2
                              FUMBLES:  4, lost 1
                              INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  3  (0,0,13TD)
                              FUMBLE RETURNS:  1  (0)
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  + 3
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  7
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   3 / 40 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  29:29

TRINITY              RUSHING    18 attempts  59 yards  1 TD  (3.28 yards per carry)
                              PASSING     14 completions  32 attempts  3 INTs   116 yards  0 TDs
                              TOTAL YARDS:  175

                              KICKS:      XP  1 / 1      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  2  (EZ,EZ[45])                         PUNTS:  6  (bk-11,41,27,42,34,32)
                              KO RETURNS:  3  (26,0,9)                           PUNT RETURNS:  4  (-3,0,0,0)
                              FIRST DOWNS:  13  (3 rushing, 8 passing, 2 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  5 / 11
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              FUMBLES:  5, lost 1
                              FUMBLE RETURN:  1  (0)
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  3 / 33 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:   18:31
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