2023 -
GAME 8
SAINT JAMES 47, Trinity 8 
STJ
7 27
13 0
47
October 13,
2023 Carlisle Field. Game
Conditions: Cloudy, misty, occasional
drizzle Game Temperature: 72
Wind: Negligible
After the first two drives
of this game, a Saint James three and out and a Trinity
touchdown and a two point conversion, few saw what was
upcoming. The Trojans scored 47 unanswered points
and the Wildcats never seriously threatened to score again
as, for the third season in a row, Saint James virtually
wrapped up another division championship with a 47 - 8
throbbing of previously undefeated Trinity.
SCORING SUMMARY
TPS (1) 8:40 Sanders 2
run
(Sanders run) 0 - 8
STJ (1) 2:59 Jackson 3
run
(Huff kick) 7 - 8
STJ (2) 10:33 Jackson 6
run
(Huff kick) 14 - 8
STJ (2) 5:52 Offord 13
pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 21 - 8
STJ (2) 3:05 Houser 17
pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 28 - 8
STJ (2) 0:23 Jackson 1 run
(run
failed) 34 - 8
STJ (3) 7:57 Offord 43 pass
from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 41 - 8
STJ (3) 6:21 Offord 49
pass from
Jackson
(kick failed) 47 - 8
As mentioned up top, it wasn't a great start for
Saint James as after a three and out Trinity embarked on a 7 play
78 yard drive for a score. Walker McClinton tossed a
pass to Webber McClinton for 28 yards to get the Wildcats into
Trojan territory, and it was immediately followed by a 27 yard run
by Ross Sanders to advance the ball to the Trojan 2. On the
next play, Sanders scored a touchdown, and then promptly scored on
a two point conversion to give Trinity a quick 8 - 0 lead.
Saint James immediately responded by converting four consecutive
third downs. After Ziggy Holloway returned the kickoff to
the 36 yard line, Cole Anderson converted a third down with a 17
yard run. Three plays later, K.J. Jackson tossed a pass to
Evan Richardson for 19 yards and another first down. On
third down, Jake Huff caught a 14 yard pass to put the ball at the
Wildcat 4, and three plays later Jackson called his own number for
a 3 yard touchdown keeper. Jake Huff's extra point cut the
Trinity lead to 1 with about 3 minutes remaining in the opening
quarter.
The Wildcats converted one first down but punted back to the
Trojans before the end of the quarter. Anderson ran for 12
and 22 yards to advance the ball to the Trinity 7, and consecutive
Jackson keepers had him in the endzone for a second time and
Huff's extra point put Saint James in the lead, where they would
stay, at 14 - 8.
On the second play of the ensuing drive, the ball was ripped from
the Wildcat ball carrier and fallen upon by Saint James. A
dead ball penalty pushed the Trojans back 15 yards, but it was
only a momentary delay for another touchdown. Anderson
converted two more first downs, of which Saint James had 15 in the
first half, and on third down and 6 from the Wildcat 13, Jackson
tossed his first of four touchdown passes as he directed his
intended receiver Tabor Offord along the back of the endzone to
move toward the goalpost, which he did, and he caught the wide
open strike for the score. Huff's extra point boosted the
lead to 21 - 8 midway through the second quarter.
Trinity again was stopped on a three and out. Walker
McClinton, who doubles as the Trinity punter, was sent off the
field by the referees before fourth down for some kind of
equipment malfunction. This necessitated a backup punter and
triggered the Trojan all-out punt block to be in effect, and it
was successful. Several Trojans smothered the punt which was
recovered by Miles Zukowski at the Wildcat 21. Three plays
later, Jackson tossed his second touchdown pass, to a very happy
welcome back Clint Houser after his dislocated ankle injury in
week two, for 17 yards, and the Saint James offense was firing on
all cylinders as the lead was suddenly 28 - 8.
There was more to come in the first half. An unsportsmanlike
conduct penalty pushed Trinity back half the distance to the goal,
and a fumbled snap on third down which the Wildcats were lucky to
recover eventually led to another three and out. From the 49
yard line, Saint James had ample time and several timeouts to work
with. On fourth down from the Trinity 34, Jackson converted
with a 13 yard pass to Huff. Two plays later, Jackson tossed
a pass to Offord which came up just short of the endzone.
Two plays later, Jackson scored his third rushing touchdown of the
half. A defensive offside penalty before the kick could be
converted convinced Saint James to take the two point conversion
attempt from closer to the goal. Unfortunately, Jackson was
stepped on by an offensive lineman and went down, negating the
conversion, but the Trojans took a commanding 34 - 8 lead to
halftime as Trinity decided not to risk further disaster after the
kickoff.
A holding penalty negated a Trinity first down on their first
offensive play of the second half, and eventually led to another
punt. Saint James overcame their own holding penalty with a
first down run by Anderson, and then from the Wildcats 43, Jackson
looked deep and found Offord for a 43 yard catch and run
touchdown. Huff's kick propelled the lead to 41 - 8 as the
Trojan fans, many clad in pink for support of the fight against
breast cancer, continued with their craziness.
A sack on third down forced yet another three and out for the
Wildcats, and on first down from the Trinity 49, Jackson tossed
his fourth touchdown pass of the game, and his third to Offord -
his twelfth touchdown reception of the season - and despite the
Huff kick being blocked the lead was boosted to 47 - 8, which
would be the final margin of victory. The Wildcats finally
picked up a pair of first downs on their next drive, the first
such since the opening quarter, but on third down from the Trojan
39 a McClinton pass was intercepted by Braylen Corley and returned
to the 35.
Saint James drove into Trinity territory again, but a questionable
intentional grounding penalty pushed the Trojans back and
eventually led to a punt. The fourth quarter was mostly
played by reserved on both teams, and each side grinded out their
offensive possessions. Saint James drove as far as the
Wildcat 19 once, but a fumbled snap led to a big loss and a
possible wasted opportunity to achieve the 50 point mark.
Nevertheless, Saint James assured themselves of a third
consecutive region championship and that all important first round
home game against a # 4 playoff seed. In the meantime, a
first time trip to York, Alabama to face off against the Sumter
Central Jaguars and the bye week were in the foreseeable future -
but tonight the Trojans partied hard to celebrate another Capital
City Conference (co-)championship and their 7th win in the last 8
meetings with Trinity.
PRESS BOX STATISTICS - GAME EIGHT
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 41
attempts 165
yards 3 TDs
(4.02 yards per
carry)
21
Anderson 21 /
122
1
Jackson 13
/ 57 (3 TDs)
16
Conner
2 / 4
31
Phillips
1 / - 2
15
Perry
4 / - 16
PASSING
11 completions 19 attempts 0 INTs 237
yards 4 TDs
1
Jackson
11 - 19 - 0 237 yards 4 TDs
RECEIVING
10
Offord
5 / 154 (3 TDs)
3 Huff
2 /
27 7
Houser 2 / 20 (1 TD)
16
Pruitt
1 / 17
5
Richardson
1 / 19
TOTAL
YARDS: 402
KICKS: XP 5 / 6
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 8
(EZ,EZ,54,54,EZ,EZ,EZ,EZ) PUNTS: 3
(38,46,14)
KO RETURNS: 2 (21,10)
PUNT RETURNS:
1 (0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 21 (11 rushing, 10 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 6 / 10
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
FUMBLES: 2, lost 0
FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (12)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 10 / 91 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 33:08
TRINITY
RUSHING 22 attempts 46 yards 1
TD (2.09 yards per carry)
PASSING
12 completions 20 attempts 1 INT 0 TDs
135 yards
TOTAL
YARDS: 181
KICKS: XP 0 / 0
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS:
2 (44,34)
PUNTS: 6
(30,bk-10,23,31,34,30)
KO
RETURNS: 2 (24,21)
PUNT RETURNS: 1
(0)
FIRST
DOWNS: 8 (3 rushing, 5 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 7
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
2, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 7 / 58 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 14:52
RETURN TO THE
SAINT JAMES 2023 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE