2021 - GAME 2

  SAINT JAMES 35, Reeltown 6 
 
REE          0       0       6       0            6
 
STJ           6      15      7       7          35
SCORING SUMMARY

STJ   (1)   4:52   Thomas 17 pass from K.J. Jackson                               (kick blocked)     6 -  0
STJ   (2)   7:13   Beard 43 pass from K.J. Jackson                                 (Harrison run)   14 -  0
STJ   (2)   0:18   Houser 27 pass from K.J. Jackson                                (Redden kick)   21 -  0
REE  (3)   9:28   Haynes 46 run                                                                     (kick failed)   21 -  6
STJ   (3)   0:48   Harrison 4 run                                                                 (Redden kick)   28 -  6
STJ   (4)   9:30   Beard 69 pass from K.J. Jackson                                   (Redden kick)   35 -  6
August 27, 2021    Carlisle Field   Game Conditions:  Mostly cloudy, breezy   Game Temperature:  82  Wind E 10 MPH


K.J. Jackson threw for four touchdown passes for the second time in his career amassing 271 yards while the Trojan defense improved significantly as Saint James won its season opener 35 - 6 over the visiting Reeltown Rebels.

The Trojans started the game with the ball on their own 33 yard line.  Cosner Harrison caught a 16 yard pass to move the ball into Reeltown territory but the drive stalled, and a Btaxton Berrey punt forced the Rebels to open up inside their own 20 yard line.  Three minimal net plays losing two yards and a false start forced the Rebels to punt from inside their own 20.  From their own 48, Clint Houser caught the first of his three receptions for a 13 yard gain.  After a bad snap resulted in a 6 yard loss, K.J. Jackson tossed a 28 yard pass to Bradley Thomas to give the Trojans first down at the Reeltown 17.  After the first quarter heat timeout, Jackson repeated a 17 yard toss to Thomas, this one for a Trojan touchdown.  The extra point was blocked, but the Trojans had a 6 - 0 lead with about five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

The Rebels were again forced into a three and out and a punt gave Saint James its third possession at their own 27.  A 15 yard run by Harrison and a nifty 41 yard run by Jonathan Harris once again gave Saint James first down at the Reeltown 17.  However, a bad snap on the final play of the opening quarter eventually led to a fourth down pass attempt which was incomplete, and Reeltown maintained a one touchdown margin.  The Rebels finally picked up their initial first down on a run, but a holding penalty a minus yard completion forced yet another punt which was shanked out of bounds at the Rebel 43.  Jackson was lucky to recover a fumbled snap on first down and actually gained a yard.  On the next play, reminiscent of the second play of the previous game, Jackson found Beard open behind defenders and lofted a 43 yard pass for a catch and run touchdown.  Harrison converted a two point run to make the score 14 - 0 midway through the second quarter.

Reeltown's quarterback Gabe Bryant completed a 38 yard pass to Marcus Haynes on first down, and a Haynes run later advanced the ball down to the Trojan 11.  On fourth down from the 6, Haynes was stopped for no gain and the Trojan defnese held their shut out.  They then embarked on a time consuming 94 yard drive which ate up most of the rest of the first half.  Thomas converted a key third down with a 26 yard reception to get the Trojans out of the hole.  Several plays later Jackson converted a third down and 13 with a scrambling 16 yard first down.  Another large run on the next play by Jackson was negated by a holding penalty.  However, from the 41 yard line and time running short, Jackson complted three passes to end his first half - a 17 yarder to Clint Houser, a 15 yarder to Bradley Thomas, and a 27 yard touchdown pass to Houser who outran the Reeltown secondary for another touchdown reception.  Wynston Redden this time converted the extra point and Saint James took a 21 - 0 lead into halftime as Reeltown made significant yardage on its final two plays of the half but did not threaten to score.

A good kickoff return by Rebel Dakarian Hughley gave Reeltown good position to start the second half and they took advantage.  On fourth and 1 from the Trojan 46, on a short yard defense play, Haynes broke through the scrunched up line and raced 46 yards for the first Rebel score of the game.  The kick was wide, but the Rebels finally had some momentum as they had cut the lead to 21 - 6.  The momentum grew as Reeltown recovered a fumble four offensive plays later and took over possession at the Trojan 42.  Despite several false start penalties, a 24 yard pass completion on fourth down and 4 put the Rebels in scoring position again at the Trojan 12.  After a small gain, what may have been the key play of the game was a pass down inside the Trojan 5 which was negated by a block in the back penalty.  A sack and a blindside block penalty pushed the Rebels all the way back into their own territory leaving them with a fourth down and 46 which required a punt.  Beard returned the punt out to the Trojan 30, but a dead ball personal foul penalty pushed Saint James back to their own 15 yard line.

No matter, Saint James promptly traveled 85 yards in four plays exclusively on the ground.  Harrison raced for a 10 yard first down, and after a 2 yard carry, Harrison broke away for his first monster carry of the season, a 69 yarder where defenders finally caught up to him inside the 15 yard line but Harrison dragged them down to the four before finally being brought down.  As a reward, Harrison was given the ball on the next play and he just dove into the endzone for the score.  The extra point extended the Saint James lead back to three scores, at 28 - 6, as time was running out in the third quarter.

The Trojan defense was monstrous on Reeltown third downs, only allowing 1 of 10 third down conversions before the virtually meaningless last play of the game.  Despite converting that other first down on the opening play of the fourth quarter, Saint James held again and forced yet another punt.  From the Trojan 23, Harrison ran for 8 on first down, and then Jackson lofted another pass to Beard who again raced past potential defenders and out-speeded them to the endzone for a 69 yard touchdown catch and run.  Redden's extra point sealed the game at 35 - 6.  Reserves from both teams played most of the remainder of the downs.  The Saint James second team offense had opportunities but several penalties prevented them from earning significant yardage.  Reeltown did get the ball back once more and ended the game on that third down conversion which actually went for a 41 yard run, nearly one-sixth of their total offensive output, but they still were short of the endzone.

Saint James evened its record at 1 - 1 and began to ready for 2021 Region Play headed to Alabama Christian to hopefully erase the memories of an overtime loss which cost the Trojans a Region championship the previous season.

 SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME TWO

SAINT JAMES    RUSHING  24 attempts   181 yards   1 TD   (7.54 yards per carry)

                                5   Harrison              12 / 125            14   Harris              2 /  43
                                1   Jackson                 8 /   10            32   Johnson           2 /   3

                              PASSING      10 completions  16 attempts  0 INTs  271 yards  4 TDs

                                1   Jackson           10 - 15 - 0      271 yards    4 TDs            
                              16   Connor              0 -   1 - 0

                              RECEIVING

                                2   Beard                   2 / 112  (2 TDs)      6   Thomas                4 / 86  (1 TD)
                                7   Houser                 3 /   57    (1 TD)      5   Harrison              1 / 16

                              TOTAL YARDS:  352

                              KICKS:      XP  3 / 4      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                              KICKOFFS:  6  (43,44,51,34,56,29)               PUNTS:  2  (32,35)
                              KO RETURNS:  2 (21,10)                              PUNT RETURNS:  2  (0fc, 19)
                              FIRST DOWNS:   15  (8 rushing, 7 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:   2 / 5
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  0 / 1
                              FUMBLES:  3, lost 1
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  - 1
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   7 / 50 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  21:03

REELTOWN        RUSHING    20 attempts  124 yards  1 TD  (6.20 yards per carry)
                              PASSING     18 completions  24 attempts  0 INTs   125 yards   0 TDs
                              TOTAL YARDS:  249

                              KICKS:      XP  0 / 1      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  2  (42,39)                                  PUNTS:  5  (40,24,37,34,49)
                              KO RETURNS:  6  (13,17,0,19,32,0)            PUNT RETURNS:  1  (6)
                              FIRST DOWNS:  9  (5 rushing, 4 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  2 / 11
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  2 / 3
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              FUMBLES:  1, lost 0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  10 / 85 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  26:57

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