Saint James played hard
throughout a game few expected them to win, actually leading
until 16 seconds remaining when Flomaton completed their first
pass of the evening for a touchdown and followed up with a
successful two point conversion to erase a fourth quarter 13
point lead as the defending 3A State Champion Hurricanes
survived to another round by edging out the Trojans 20 - 19.
The first half featured only six possessions, three per team,
and the last possession was merely a one run the clock out
drive. Flomaton did not try to kick the ball deep the
entire game, kicking bouncing onside type kicks each
opportunity. The Trojans downed the first kick on their
own 48 and embarked on a studious 52 yard drive which covered
13 plays. Zac Russell caught a 15 yard pass from Drew
Fett to move the ball into Hurricane territory, and Austin
Gavin, who finished his career with yet another 100 yard
rushing effort, ran twice consecutively for 5 yards to advance
the ball to the Flomaton 28. Brock Woodham and Austin
runs moved the ball down to the 2. After a one yard loss
on first down, an encroachment penalty gave Saint James its
yardage back and then some. From there, Fett called his
own number for the first score of the game on a one yard
keeper. Jan Wachowitz's extra point was good, and Saint
James was up 7 - 0 nearly midway through the first quarter.
Flomaton moved the ball just as effectively on their opening
drive, exhausting the first period and several plays of the
second. Nearly the entire game featured Flomaton
quarterback Da'quan Johnson keeping on quarterback sweeps and
powers up the middle. This particular drive covered 15
plays and 65 yards. When Johnson was not running, the
ball was usually in the wildcat hands of Jate'vius
Franklin. His 1 yard carry on the third play of the
second quarter gave the Hurricanes their first
touchdown. However, a failed two point conversion run
left Saint James ahead 7 - 6. One drive per team
and over 13 minutes already off the game clock.
The teams traded punts on their next respective drives, with
Saint James taking over at its own 18 midway through the
second quarter. Gavin's rushes and rushes and a nice
catch by Andrew Sadie advanced the ball to the Flomaton
27. A Fett keeper was aided by a face mask penalty, and
Saint James had first down at the Hurricane 20. The
drive stalled, and Wachowitz was called on to attempt a 33
yard field goal which he kicked through the uprights boosting
the Trojan lead to 4, at 10 - 6, just before halftime.
Saint James had an excellent break as the Hurricanes fumbled
the opening kickoff of the third quarter, the only turnover of
the game. However, a sack quickly stalled the drive and
Wilson Carter pinned Flomaton in with a punt back to their own
9 yard line. The Trojan defense, which gave up only one
first down in both the second and third quarters, forced a
punt by the Hurricanes. For the second week in a row,
the snap sailed over the punter's head and rolled harmlessly
out of the back of the endzone, resulting in a Saint James
safety and a 12 - 6 lead.
Saint James had excellent field position after the free
kickoff was downed at the Hurricane 47. However, the
Flomaton defense stiffened and stopped the Trojans on fourth
down on the Hurricane 28. Flomaton could not convert a
first down either and a somewhat shanked punt went out of
bounds at the Trojan 46. On first down, Gavin, who
had been held to no breakaway runs, finally did so, breaking
several tackles 7 yards downfield and raced down the near
sidelines for a 54 yard touchdown on the very next play.
Wachowitz's extra point gave Saint James a 13 point lead with
less than 14 minutes remaining in the game.
Flomaton remained methodical on their next drive. A few
incomplete passes were attempted, but the Hurricanes tallied a
14 play drive with quarterback Johnson going the final two
yards for the touchdown. Once again, his two point
conversion run was stopped just short by Saint James, but
Flomaton had cut the lead to 7, at 19 - 12, with 6½ minutes
remaining in the game.
The Trojans, after another short zero return kickoff, had the
ball at their own 41. A costly holding penalty did not
allow Saint James to convert a first down which would have
gone a long toward sealing a victory, and a forced punt was
fair caught at the Hurricane 24 with less than 4 minutes
remaining. By the time Flomaton had earned their next
first down, they had exhausted all of their time outs.
After the final timeout, a defensive penalty followed by the
first long breakaway run by Johnson advanced the ball all the
way to the Trojan 21. Three plays later, Franklin
converted a fourth and 1 with a run down to the Trojan 9 as
time was running off the clock. The next play was a
strange looking play where the quarterback was sacked after 5
seconds of being forced back. Forward progress was
marked, and Johnson downed the ball at the Trojan 21.
The next play broke Trojan hearts. Johnson was pressured
and at one time appeared he was going to break for the endzone
on a run. However, he leaned back and threw honestly a
very wobbly pass into the center of the endzone which was
caught by Jackson Dullard. The first Hurricane pass
completion of the game went for a touchdown and Flomaton had
cut the lead to 1 with only 16 seconds remaining. The
third time was the charm for the Hurricane two point
conversion as Johnson called his own number and slid into the
endzone on the far sideline - and Flomaton had its first lead
of the game at 20 - 19.
Saint James had little time left, and an unsportsmanlike
conduct penalty after the conversion gave Flomaton 15 extra
yards to kickoff with. The Trojans recovered the
bouncing kick, but the two plays they were able to run did not
even earn enough yardage for a first down as Flomaton stormed
the field as their shocking come-from-behind victory was
complete, and Saint James again suffered a second round
playoff loss, ending another great season and a 39 win career
for the graduating seniors.
Maxpreps stats and other statistical data from this game will
be added at a later date.
SIDELINE STATISTICS -
GAME TWELVE
SAINT
JAMES
RUSHING
34 attempts 150
yards 2 TDs
(4.41 yards per carry)
3
Gavin
20 / 124 (1 TD)
44 Woodham
6 / 27
27
Sadie
3 /
11
8 Fett
5 / - 12 (1 TD)
PASSING
4 completions 9 attempts 42 yards 0
INTs 0 TDs
8
Fett
4 - 9 - 0 42 yards
RECEIVING
27
Sadie
2 / 24
6
Russell
1 / 15 44
Woodham 1 / 3
TOTAL
YARDS: 192
KICKS: XP 2 / 2
FG 1 / 1 (33 made)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 4
(OB,34,37,36)
PUNTS: 3 (33,25,41)
KO RETURNS: 5 (0,0,0,0,2)
PUNT RETURNS: 1
(0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 12 (9 rushing, 2 passing, 1
penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 8
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
FUMBLES: 1,
lost 0
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 5 / 40 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 21:39
FLOMATON
RUSHING 49
attempts 216 yards 2 TDs (4.41 yards per
carry)
PASSING 1
completion 6 attempts 0 INTs 24
yards 1 TD
TOTAL
YARDS: 240
KICKS: XP 0 / 0
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 1 / 3
KICKOFFS:
5 (12,27,12,19,29)
PUNTS: 2 (26,19)
KO
RETURNS: 3 (20,5f,14)
PUNT
RETURNS: 1 (0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 13 (12 rushing, 1 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 6 / 12
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 3
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
1, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 5 / 22 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 27:21
@ Flomaton 20, Saint James 19 