2022 -
GAME 13
SAINT JAMES 40, Thomasville
15 
THO 0
8 0
7
15
STJ
7
13 13
7
40
November 18, 2022 Carlisle Field
K.J. Jackson threw four touchdown passes, again, and Cosner
Harrison added two more rushing as Saint James advanced to the
3A State Semifinals with a 40 - 15 defeat of the visiting
Thomasville Tigers.
A tremendous thanks to Tim Gayle of The Montgomery Independent
for providing a very thorough game review which I'll try not to
butcher too terribly!
SCORING
SUMMARY
STJ (1) 6:01
Holloway 15 pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 7 -
0
THO (2) 6:32 McCreary
2
run
(Holt
run) 7 - 8
STJ (2)
6:12 Beard 60 pass from
Jackson
(kick failed) 13
- 8
STJ (2)
1:08 Beard 41 pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 20 - 8
STJ (3)
7:19 Harrison 1
run
(Huff kick) 27 - 8
STJ (3)
3:36 Harrison 24
run
(kick failed) 33 - 8
STJ (4) 10:08 Holloway
87 pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 40 - 8
THO (4) 1:37 Bryant 22
run
(Anderson kick) 40 - 15
Thomasville won the opening coin toss and elected to
defer. Saint James, as they have so many times, got
off to a great start as Clint Houser returned the opening kickoff
45 yards to the Thomasville 35. Harrison picked up the first
10 of his 117 yards on first down, but the drive slowed as a pass
intended for Ethan Beard was broken up in the endzone. Jake
Huff was called on to attempt a 32 yard field goal which was wide
right.
The Tigers took over on their own 20 and could not make a first
down, and Wils Johnson blocked the punt which was recovered by
Thomasville but far short of a first down, and Saint James had
excellent field position at the Tiger 17. Harrison rumbled
for two on first down and an incomplete pass led to Jackson
tossing his first touchdown pass of the night - a 15 yard slant to
Ziggy Holloway who darted into the endzone for the first score of
the game. Jake Huff's extra point was good, and the Trojans
were up 7 - 0 midway through the first quarter.
Thomasville would convert a fourth down into a first down, thanks
in part to their only pass completion of the game before they were
again forced to punt, and Ethan Beard made a diving fair catch
just short of the 20 yard line. Three plays netted no
yardage, and Braxton Berrey punted for 35 yards. The Trojan
defense forced the third Tiger punt early in the game which rolled
dead at the Saint James 6. Now in the second quarter, the
Trojans could only get three consecutive two yard gains and Berrey
was heavily pressured resulting in a shanked punt which only
traveled 10 yards. Thomasville had the excellent field
position this time at the Saint James 22. A holding penalty
pushed the ball back toward the 30 yard line on first down, but
then Kajerrius Shamberger picked up 20 yards on a reverse giving
the Tigers first and goal at the Trojan 8. Three consecutive
rushes by Justin McCreary, of 3, 3, and 2 yards gave the Tigers a
touchdown. Lining up for the extra point, the ball was
snapped instead to upback Jacoby Holt who carried in on a surprise
two point conversion run, and Thomasville was ahead 8 - 7 midway
through the second quarter.
It would last all of 20 seconds of game time. Holloway
returned a squib kickoff to the 40 yard line, and then it was
Jackson to Beard who had zoomed past defenders and actually had to
wait for the pass to complete a 60 yard catch and run
touchdown. Huff's kick resembled the earlier failed field
goal attempt and went wide right - his first miss of the season,
but Saint James was on top with a lead they would not relinquish
at 13 - 8.
Two first downs were picked up by the Tigers, but a huge combo
sack by A.J. Alozie and Connor Owens pushed the ball back to the
Thomasville 40. Saint James called timeouts to get the ball
back with under two minutes remaining. Beard had another
fine punt return which brought the ball to the Thomasville
41. Beard quickly picked up 14 on a pass reception, and what
looked like a touchdown by Holloway was dropped in the
endzone. On the next play, Beard made another catch but a
penalty after the play pushed the ball back to the Trojan
36. An incomplete pass and a penalty led to 4th and 24, but
Saint James opted to go for broke as the half was winding
down. Once again, Jackson found the drive workhorse Beard
streaking down the middle for a 41 yard catch and run touchdown
with just 68 seconds remaining until halftime. Huff
converted this extra point, and after the Tigers ran two safe
running plays to expire the clock, Saint James was up 20 - 8 at
halftime.
As they had deferred their choice to the second half, Thomasville
received the opening kickoff but could only muster two yards
rushing. Another punt to Beard and another 20 yard return to
midfield gave Saint James more great starting field
position. Clint Houser picked up 6 yards on a jet sweep
pass, and the Trojans changed focus towards plays on the weaker
side of the defense. Several Harrison runs, including a
booming 29 yarder, were tempered with five yard penalties.
From the Tiger 20, Harrison gained 5 to offset one of the
penalties, and then was brought down just short of the goal line
on a toss play. He was rewarded with the score on the next
play, a 1 yarder, and Huff's extra point gave Saint James a three
possession lead at 27 - 8 less than five minutes into the third
quarter.
Just like the previous drive, Thomasville could only generate 2
rushing yards on three plays before Beard returned yet another
punt 12 yards to the Tiger 35. Jackson tried to reward his
place kicker with a six point score as he lofted a pass on the
near sidelines to Huff. The ball was caught but
unfortunately while falling out of bounds thus resulting in an
incomplete pass. No problem. Three more Harrison runs
of 4, 7, and 24 yards for his second rushing touchdown boosted the
lead to 33 - 8 towards the end of the third quarter as the extra
point boinked off of the left upright.
Thomasville finally made some headway rushing the ball against an
increasing number of Saint James reserve defenders.
Shamberger and Courtavion Holt had double digit rushes, and by the
time the third quarter had expired the Tigers were as close as the
Trojan 15. However, on fourth and 2 from the 14, Clint
Houser made a 2 yard tackle for loss and the ball turned over on
downs back to the Trojans. An ineligible receiver penalty
and a 2 yard run by Harrison gave the Trojans a second down from
their own 13. Jackson once again called on Ziggy Holloway to
outrun the tiring Tiger defenders, which he did, and the perfectly
lofted pass turned into not only the longest touchdown play of the
season, but also the longest touchdown pass in the first 50 years
of Saint James football, breaking a 42 year old record. Jake
Huff's extra point meant the starters were basically done for the
evening and the Trojans began looking forward with a 40 - 8 lead
as time was winding down.
The long touchdown also marked the first time since the 2003
season a pair of Trojan receivers each went for over 100 yards in
the same game (Beard with 114 and Holloway with 103).
For the third time in the second half, a three play two yard drive
was all Thomasville could earn, and with basically the junior
varsity offense in play, both teams were basically content to let
the clock run out. Thomasville did mount a drive to score a
late touchdown, an 8 yarder by Tiger reserve Diego Bryant, which
eventually led to the final margin of 40 - 15, and for the first
time since 1985 Saint James was in the state playoff semifinals,
and the first time ever in round four, with a trip to Mobile
Christian to face off against the Leopards a week away.
GAME THIRTEEN STATISTICS
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING
24
attempts
126 yards
2 TDs
(5.25
yards per
carry)
5
Harrison
19 / 117 2
TDs
7
Houser
1 / 6
1
Jackson
2 / 1
35
Williams 2 / - 2
PASSING
6 completions 14 attempts 0 INTs 4 TDs
1
Jackson
6 - 14 - 0 225 yards 4 TDs
RECEIVING
2
Beard
4 / 114 (2
TDs) 6
Holloway 2 / 102
(2 TDs)
TOTAL
YARDS: 331
KICKS: XP 4 / 6
FG 0 / 1 (32 missed)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 7
(42,42,50,47,59,EZ,EZ)
PUNTS: 2 (6,31)
KO RETURNS: 3 (39,12,0)
PUNT RETURNS: 3
(32,14,10)
FIRST
DOWNS: 11 (6 rushing, 5 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 4
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
TURNOVER
MARGIN: 0
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 5 / 29 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: not available
THOMASVILLE RUSHING 55
attempts 199 yards 2 TDs (3.62
yards per carry)
PASSING
1
completion 4 attempts 7 yards 0 INTs 0 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 206
KICKS: XP 1 / 1
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS:
3 (34,32,13)
PUNTS: 7
(2bk,46,46,14,40,39,36)
KO
RETURNS: 5 (12,15,12,13,9)
PUNT RETURNS: 1 (0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 9 (9 rushing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 9
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 2
FUMBLES: 0
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 2 / 15 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: not available
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SAINT JAMES 2022 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE