10-22-21 SAINT JAMES 49, @ Geneva 26

Saint James completed a 7 - 0 region record and racked up their eighth straight win as K.J. Jackson completed 6 of 7 passes for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns; Cosner Harrison added 3 rushing touchdowns as he rushed for 173 yards on 16 carries, and Ethan Beard returned an interception 104 yards (although in high school you are only credited with 100 yard returns from your own endzone) for a key touchdown just before the end of the first half to thwart an opposing scoring drive as the Trojans scored touchdowns on all except two of their possession defeating the Geneva Panthers 49 - 26.

The Trojans started with good field position after a short kickoff was returned by Bradley Thomas to the Trojan 42. After a short Harrison run, Jackson completed his first pass to Cooper Wright for 15 yards, and then a double reverse "flea flicker" was executed to perfection as Jackson took a second pitch and found Beard behind the defense for a 40 yard touchdown. Huff's extra point attempt hit the right goalpost, a rare miss, but Saint James was quickly up 6 = 0/

Geneva then took nearly the entire first quarter, over nine minutes worth, to put the Trojans behind for the first time in many quarters. A 15 play 80 yard drive gave Geneva their first touchdown, almost exclusively on runs. They converted a key fourth down just short of midfield, and quarterback Logan Adams converted a long third down on a quarterback scramble. From the Saint James 24, Michael Moore carried in for the touchdown to conclude a drive which was definitely against the "run" of play the remainder of the game. Brody Bynum's extra point frenzied the Panthers Senior Night crowd as they took a 7 - 6 lead.

It would last for all of 12 seconds. Jonathan Harris fielded an onside kick at the Geneva 49. On the next play, Jackson found Clint Houser on a nifty 49 yard catch and run touchdown. Harrison was called in for a two point conversion, where he just crossed the goal line off right end, and Saint James had a lead they would not relinquish at 14 - 7 as the first quarter wore down.

Saint James forced a Geneva punt on the second play of the second quarter, one of only two punts in the entire game. From their own 36, the Trojans then methodically traveled 64 yards in 11 plays. Jackson picked up 27 yards on a carry where he carried three Geneva tacklers at least ten yards. Several plays later, a long Harrison run was in part negated by a holding penalty. From the Panther 35, Jackson converted a fourth down on a quarterback keeper. Four consecutive Harrison runs, the final being of two yards for the touchdown, and the Huff extra point gave the Trojans a 21 - 7 lead with still half of the second quarter remaining.

The Panthers then began another long drive which was boosted by a dubious pass interference penalty. Later, after an incomplete pass and a penalty, Geneva had third down from the Trojan 21 as they were trying to cut the lead. A pass was tossed into the endzone where no one but Ethan Beard stood. He easily made the interception in the endzone and considered kneeling for a touchback, but saw room on the near sidelines and decided to return instead. He avoided one tackler near his own 30 thanks to a key Bradely Thomas block, and then had two defenders at the Panther 40 which he slyly avoided and raced all the way to the goal line with a return which covered 104 yards for a touchdown. In high school, oppostie endzone returns are only counted 100 yards, but Beard earned the first ever triple digit score for a Trojan in 516½ games, smashing the previous record of a 93 yard interception return for a touchdown from way back in 1975. The touchdown proved to be a huge momentum shift as Geneva could have cut the lead to a touchdown before halftime. However, Huff's extra point gave the Trojans a 21 point advantage into halftime and put Beard permanently in the Trojan record books, along with those of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and other state associations as well.

The Panthers did score a touchdown on their opening third quarter drive. A 39 pass from Adams to Justin Russ advanced the ball to the Trojan 16, and on the next play Timothy McReynolds, one of two Geneva running backs who rushed for over 100 yards (109) finished the drive with a touchdown. The extra point swayed left, and Saint James maintained a 28 - 13 lead. That lead would grow in less than half a minute. Another short kickoff was fallen upon by Jonathan Harris at the Trojan 47. Jackson found Bradley Thomas for a 36 yard sideline catch, run, and avoid defenders. On the next play from the 17, Jackson found Houser open across the middle on a semi-slant for a touchdown - his third touchdown pass of the game. This touchdown pass was the 40th of his Trojan career, tying the school record of 40 set by C.J. Duncan back in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons. And Jackson presumably has two plus years remaining! The Huff extra point gave Saint James a 22 point advantage.

Geneva went three and out on their next drive, and it appeared Harrison was breaking loose on yet another long run. However, as he was tackled the ball was knocked loose and fallen upon by several Panthers - the first drive Saint James did not conclude with a touchdown. The Panthers made several third downs and tried to convert a fourth and 3 from the Trojan 38. Adams spent nearly 15 seconds in the backfield successfully avoiding Trojan pursuers, but the secondary was equal to the task. Adams finally launched the pass to what appeared to be an open receiver downfield, but linebacker Tucker Williams made a great leaping interception at the 30 to stall the drive as the third quarter ended.

A Panther personal foul penalty after a Harrison run advanced the ball to the Geneva 40. Jackson found Thomas for a 20 yard completion, and Harrison followed up with a 20 yard jaunt for his second touchdown which seemed to seal the victory with a 42 - 13 lead. Perhaps not. After another Huff endzone kick, workhorse Panther back Kingston Tolbert broke loose for 80 of his 123 game rushing yards and a quick touchdown. A conversion pass was broken up in the endzone, but Geneva had cut the lead to 42 - 19 with nearly 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Two plays after Houser returned the kickoff to the Trojan 35, Harrison capped off his 173 yard performance with a 64 yard breakaway touchdown leaving Panther would be tacklers grabbing for air, and the Huff extra point meand a 30 point lead and timne for the starters to watch the remainder of the game from the sidelines. Geneva used up much of the remaining fourth quarter to score a late touchdown - a one yard run by Michael Moore - to conclude the scoring, and the Trojans could now set their sights on two big upcoming games - a regular season ending matchup against rival Trinity and a first round playoff matchup against a first time opponent, the Cherokee County Warriors.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME NINE

SAINT JAMES RUSHING 22 attempts 236 yards 3 TDs (10.72 yards per carry)

5 Harrison 16 / 173 (3 TDs) 1 Jackson 2 / 31
21 Anderson 3 / 26 32 Johnson 1 / 6

PASSING 6 completions 7 attempts 0 INTs 177 yards 3 TDs

1 Jackson 6 - 7 - 0 177 yards 3 TDs

RECEIVING

7 Houser 2 / 66 (2 TDs) 6 Bradley 2 / 56
2 Beard 1 / 40 (TD) 12 Wright 1 / 15

TOTAL YARDS: 413

                              KICKS:      XP 5 / 6 FG 0 / 0
                          2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
                          KICKOFFS: 8 (EZ,48,EZ,53,53,EZ,56,51)      PUNTS: 0
                          KO RETURNS: 5 (5,0,0,8,0fc)             PUNT RETURNS:   1 (0)
                          FIRST DOWNS:   16 (10 rushing, 6 passing)
                          THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 4
                    FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
                              FUMBLES: 1, lost 1
                              INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 2 (100TD,0)
                          TURNOVER MARGIN: + 1
                          POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:   14
                          ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   5 / 36 yards
                          TIME OF POSSESSION: 13:59 (third lowest total in a full 48 minute game in team history)

GENEVA        RUSHING    49 attempts 304 yards 4 TDs (6.20 yards per carry)
                          PASSING       5 completions 8 attempts 2 INTs 69 yards
                          TOTAL YARDS: 373

                          KICKS:      XP 1 / 2      FG   0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 2
KICKOFFS: 5 (23,9,13,33,22)          PUNTS: 2 (42.38)
                          KO RETURNS: 5 (9,18,24,16,18)             PUNT RETURNS: 0
                          FIRST DOWNS: 19 (16 rushing, 2 passing, 1 penalty)
                          THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 7 / 12
                          FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:   1 / 2
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
                          FUMBLES: 0
                              FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
                          ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 4 / 30 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 34:01

2021 - GAME 9