2022 - GAME 15

  SAINT JAMES 45, Piedmont 28 
 
PIE         7      13        0        8            28

STJ         3        7      21      14            45


December 1, 2022   Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn    Game Conditions:  Mostly clear   Game Temperature:  53   Wind:  ENE 5 - 10

It took 50 seasons, but what a way to celebrate a golden anniversary of varsity football as Saint James, bolstered by the record-breaking Most Valuable Player performance by K.J. Jackson and his offensive crew, overcame a somewhat sluggish first half to outscore its opponents 35 - 7 in the second half on the way to its first ever football state championship as the Trojans defeated the three-time defending champion Piedmont Bulldogs 45 - 28 in Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium.

SCORING SUMMARY

PIE  (1)    6:47   Hayes 3 run                                                           (Smith kick)     0 -   7
STJ  (1)    0:35   Huff 39 FG                                                                                      3 -   7
PIE  (2)    6:00   Hayes 4 run                                                            (kick failed)     3 - 13
STJ  (2)    2:39   Harrison 13 run                                                      (Huff kick)   10 - 13
PIE  (2)    0:03   Hayes 1 run                                                           (Smith kick)   10 - 20
STJ  (3)  11:12   Houser 21 pass from Jackson                                (Huff kick)   17 - 20
STJ  (3)    8:19   Holloway 48 pass from Jackson                            (Huff kick)   24 - 20
STJ  (3)    4:33   Houser 43 pass from Jackson                                (Huff kick)   31 - 20
PIE  (4)  11:55   Hayes 5 run                                                            (Hayes run)   31 - 28
STJ  (4)  10:53   Beard 93 pass from Jackson                                (kick failed)   37 - 28
STJ  (4)    8:29   Beard 53 pass from Jackson     (Houser pass from Jackson)   45 - 28

Piedmont, the designated visiting team in this neutral site game, won the opening coin toss and elected to defer their choice.  Saint James appeared to be on its way to a first drive touchdown as has been the case so many times this season after K.J. Jackson connected with Ethan Beard on a 37 yard pass on the first scrimmage play.  Cosner Harrison then ran for 6 yards, but an offensive offside penalty stalled the advance and an incomplete pass on fourth down turned the ball over to the Bulldogs.  Jack Hayes, Piedmont quarterback, who (at the time of this game) leads most Alabama quarterback statistics, in ANY and ALL classifications, got to work.  His 20 yard run on third down was followed up by his longest pass completion of the day, a 35 yarder to Rollie Pinto, and suddenly the Bulldogs were on the Trojan 13 yard line.  Another offside penalty gave Piedmont a first down, one of five first downs they would earn by defensive penalty, and on the next play Hayes carried in from 3 yards out for his first of four touchdowns (and 26 total game points).  Sloan Smith's extra point gave Piedmont a 7 - 0 lead midway through the first quarter.

K.J. Jackson, who would end up with an easily record-shattering day, made a rare mistake and threw an interception on the first play of the next drive and Piedmont had all the momentum.  However, after Hayes ran for 14 on first down (just another of his 35 overall carries for 214 yards), he would fire an incomplete pass on fourth down and turn the ball back over to Saint James.  Several medium distance Harrison runs and short Jackson passes moved the ball into Bulldog territory before the drive stalled, but Jake Huff was called on to kick a 39 yard field goal, which he converted, and Saint James unzeroed the scoreboard at 3 - 7 in the last minute of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs then grounded out the remainder of the first quarter and exactly half of the second quarter on their way to another touchdown.  Hayes mixed in some short passes with runs, and a pass interference penalty helped continue the drive.  Finally, on the fifteenth play of the drive, Hayes rumbled in from the 4 yard line.  The extra point kick went wide left, but Piedmont had a 10 point lead over Saint James with 6 minutes remaining until halftime.

The ensuing kickoff was shanked out of bounds, but an offside penalty at the point of kick stopped the play and Piedmont seemed to benefit by only the 5 penalty yards.  Nevertheless, Ziggy Holloway returned the next kickoff to the Trojan 45.  Clint Houser caught a key 12 yard pass on fourth and 5 at midfield to extend the Trojan drive.  Then, Harrison took over with three power runs in a row, of 6, 18, and 13 yards - the latter for Saint James first touchdown of the game.  Jake Huff's extra point cut the lead to 3 points at 13 - 10 as the first half waned.

Saint James appeared to finally have some momentum, but that was virtually wiped out as Hayes almost single-"leggedly" drove the Bulldogs down the field for a late touchdown, a 1 yarder with only 3 seconds remaining.  Smith's extra point gave Piedmont its 10 point advantage back at 20 - 10, and the Trojans headed to the locker room to find a way to kickstart the offense and slow down the workhorse Hayes and get back into the championship game.

With Piedmont receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, it would be a quick test for the Trojans to energize.  And when Bulldog Cody Holloway fumbled the kickoff return and it was fallen upon by Trojan Cole Anderson at the 23 yard line, Saint James had an instant scoring opportunity.  Harrison barrelled for two yards on first down, and then Jackson tossed the first of his school-tying record five touchdown passes to a wide open Houser.  Huff's extra point cut the lead back to 3 in the first minute of the third quarter.   Hayes earned a Bulldog first down by a face mask penalty, but a holding penalty of their own forced Piedmont into the first punt of the game allowing Saint James to take over at its own 32.  After a two yard Harrison run, an 11 yard catch by Holloway, and a 7 yard Harrison run, Jackson lofted a pass down the middle toward Holloway.  The pass into a slight wind was a bit underthrown, allowing a defender to get hands on the ball.  However, Holloway "intercepted" a potential interception, swiping the ball from the defender, and racing into the endzone for a 48 yard catch, snatch, and run touchdown giving Saint James its first lead of the game.  Huff's extra point gave the Trojans a 24 - 20 advantage and all of the late first half Piedmont momentum had vanished.

The inspired defense forced several incomplete passes on its way to a three and out and a punt which dribbled out of bounds at the Saint James 40.  After a short rush and an incomplete pass, Jackson found Houser for a 43 yard catch and run touchdown - his third touchdown pass of the quarter - and the impressive Saint James crowd roared as the offense had scored 21 points in less than 8 minutes of clock time to take a 31 - 20 advantage.

The Trojan defense had made adjustments to help slow down the continuous plodding and yard gaining by Hayes.  However, Piedmont adjusted as well and Hayes was finding new holes in the Trojan defensive front lines.  Hayes rewarded himself on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 5 yard scamper.  Trailing by five (31 - 26), the Bulldogs opted for a two point conversion and Hayes snuck into the endzone for the conversion and the lead was back down to 3, at 31 - 28.

Disaster very nearly struck on the ensuing kickoff as a bouncing kick was bobbled and finally picked up by Houser with defenders converging.  One knocked the ball loose in the middle of the field, fortunately with such force it zoomed out of bounds in nearly a lateral direction, but the Trojans had to start the possession on their 6 yard line.  No problem.  Harrison picked up a tough yard on first down, and then Jackson, who was again given plenty of time to throw, found Beard streaking down the middle of the field past a pair of Piedmont defenders.  The pass was thrown on a line, and Beard was on his way to a school record 93 yard catch and run touchdown barely a minute after Saint James had surrendered a touchdown.  The extra point attempt swirved left, but the Trojans had regained their two score advantage at 37 - 28 still early in the fourth quarter.

Piedmont was not comfortable it appeared "playing from behind", and several Hayes passes were incomplete.  As good as Hayes ran the ball he had in the past normally thrown the ball as well, but could only complete 6 of 26 attempts against the stout Trojans.  The Bulldogs punted and Beard returned the punt to the Trojan 47.  Most everyone in the stadium, especially the Bulldog defense, expected a large dose of Harrison runs to evaporate the clock.  Not on first down - Jackson looked for Beard again and, despite being 40 yards closer to the goal line, connected for yet another touchdown, the fifth for Jackson, of 53 yards.  After a time out, Saint James decided to attempt a two point conversion of their own and converted on a nifty short pass from Jackson to Houser and Saint James felt in control at what would eventually be the final score, 45 - 28.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs on their next drive, but a fumble recovered by Piedmont as Jackson was attempting to pass gave them one last glitter of hope.  However, a no gain run, three incomplete passes, and only one time out remaining meant the end of the line and the season for the Bulldogs as the Trojans converted a pair of first downs to seal the victory - its first ever "13th" win in any season, and Saint James was rewarded with the coveted blue state map trophy reserved for only champions.

Seniors completed their final football season in the absolute best way possible, and underclassmen realized they had a 9 game winning streak which would carry over into what could be another magical season, 2023.

GAME STATISTICS  (provided by Jay Spohn, thank you, and the AHSAA)

SAINT JAMES   RUSHING   28 attempts  116 yards   1 TD   (4.14 yards per carry)

                                5   Harrison            28 / 102  (1 TD)       1   Jackson             8 / 14

                              PASSING    10 completions  15 attempts  1 INT   351 yards  (school record)   5 TDs  (tied school record)

                                1   Jackson             10 - 15 - 1   351 yards    5 TDs

                              RECEIVING

                                2   Beard                 4 / 194  (2 TDs)       7   Houser              3 / 91  (2 TDs)    6   Holloway        3 / 66   (1 TD)          

                              TOTAL YARDS:   467

                              KICKS:      XP  5 / 6      FG   1 / 1  (39 made)
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                              KICKOFFS:  8  (EZ,41,53,44,40,35,58,47)     PUNTS:  0
                              KO RETURNS:  4  (0fc,0fc,37,4)                    PUNT RETURNS:   2  (14,9)
                              FIRST DOWNS:   14  (5 rushing, 9 passing)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  3 / 7
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 2
                              FUMBLES:  2, lost 1
                              FUMBLE RETURN:  1  (0)
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  - 1
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:   7
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   7 / 80
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  18:53

PIEDMONT         RUSHING    42 attempts  221 yards  4 TDs  (5.26 yards per carry - Hayes  35 / 214 yards and the 4 TDs)
                              PASSING       6 completions  26 attempts  80 yards  0 INTs  0 TDs

                              TOTAL YARDS:  301

                              KICKS:      XP  3 / 4      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                              KICKOFFS:  4  (31,21,37,24)                         PUNTS:  3  (43,29,22)
                              KO RETURNS:  7  (5,12,10F,16,10,23,18)    PUNT RETURNS:  0
                              FIRST DOWNS:  23  (18 rushing, 1 passing, 4 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  7 / 15
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:   1 / 5
                              FUMBLES:  2, lost 1
                              FUMBLE RETURN:  1  (0)
                              INTERCEPTION RETURN:  1  (0)
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  4 / 25 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  29:07

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