2023 -
GAME 10
SAINT JAMES 49, Carroll 48
(OT)
CAR
7
7 14 13
|| 7 48
STJ
14
7 14
6 ||
8 49
November 3, 2023 Carlisle Field - SENIOR NIGHT
Game Conditions: Clear, comfortable Game
Temperature: 62 Wind: none
In a game where the Carroll Eagles rushed for nearly 500
yards, with two players each surpassing the 200 yard mark,
Saint James used a few timely turnovers and some field
position advantage to force a crazy tie game after regulation,
where Pruitt Conner finished off his career game with a
winning two point conversion as the Trojans completed their
second consecutive 8 - 2 season with a heartstopping 49 - 48
overtime victory over the visitors from Ozark.
SCORING
SUMMARY
STJ (1) 7:51
Jackson 1
run
(Huff kick) 7 - 0
CAR (1) 5:27 Person 31
run
(Daniels
kick) 7 - 7
STJ (1) 0:02
Jackson 9
run
(Huff kick) 14 - 7
CAR (2) 8:37 Plott 58
run
(Daniels kick) 14 - 14
STJ (2) 0:22
Jackson 3
run
(Huff kick) 21 - 14
CAR (3) 9:41 Plott 68
run
(Daniels kick) 21 - 21
STJ (3) 7:13
Offord 58 pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 28 - 21
STJ (3) 2:38
Houser 16 pass from
Jackson
(Huff kick) 35 - 21
CAR (3) 0:56 Person 18
run
(Daniels
kick) 35 - 28
CAR (4) 10:28 Plott 78
run
(Daniels
kick) 35 - 35
STJ (4) 3:34
Houser 4 pass from Jackson
(kick failed) 41 - 35
CAR (4) 0:26 Person 4
run
(kick failed) 41 - 41
CAR (OT1) Plott
10
run
(Daniels kick) 41 - 48
STJ
(OT1) Jackson 2
run
(Conner
run) 49 - 48
After a rousing pre-game Senior Night festivity, Saint James
won its ninth coin toss in ten tries this season and again
elected to take the first possession. After an offside
penalty on the kickoff, Clint Houser returned the opening kick
to the Trojan 39. And then, Saint James tried an amazing
six consecutive pass plays. An incompletion, a one yard
forward "handoff toss" to Houser, and an 11 yard pass to Carter
Carroll gave the Trojans their first of 25 first downs in the
game. A 17 yard completion to Wils Johnson and a 28 yard
completion to Tabor Offord advanced the ball to the Trojan 4
before an incomplete pass into the endzone. Then, three
consecutive runs - Cole Anderson for 1 and Pruitt Conner for
2. An offside penalty advanced the ball less than half a
yard, and K.J. Jackson scored the first of his four touchdowns
with a 1 yard dive - no "brotherly love" needed. Jake
Huff's extra point gave Saint James a 7 - 0 lead just over 3
minutes into the game.
Carroll's regular quarterback, Keyshawn Cole, who dealt the
Trojans fits in the 2022 game was injured and did not
play. So in steps Peyton Plott, listed as a 5' 9" wide
receiver. He ran wild all night - rushing for 268 yards on
only 14 carries. His partner in the backfield, Lakeith
Person, rushed for 214 yards himself. Carroll was held to
8 yards on their first three carries, but Quadarious Lightner,
on his only carry of the night, picked up a first down with a 17
yard sprint. Plott rushed for 24 on the next carry, and
Person finished off the quick drive with a 24 yard
touchdown. Zhenya Daniels' extra point quickly tied the
score at 7.
Saint James responded with another methodical drive of 12
plays. Anderson picked up 19 yards on his fourth carry of
the night to convert a first down to the Eagle 14, but he was
injured on the play and did not return to the game
afterwards. From there, Jackson ran twice, for 5 yards and
then for 9 yards ending in a leap over a defender which would
have made Najee Harris proud for another touchdown just before
the end of the first quarter giving Saint James a 14 - 7
lead. WSFA chose that play as their "Hot Play of the
Night" in recognition of the score.
A block in the back penalty on the Carroll kickoff return pushed
the ball back to the 9 yard line, but it took the Eagles only 6
plays to traverse the field. Plott found a hole and broke
away for a 58 yard touchdown sprint on that sixth play and the
extra point again tied the game up at 14. Four drives,
four touchdowns, 28 points registered.
The Trojans were finally stuffed on their next drive, but
Braxton Berry unloaded on a 64 yard punt - a school record -
when Carroll failed to put a punt returner back and the Trojan
pursuers downed the ball on the 2 yard line. The Eagles
picked up two first downs but were forced to attempt their only
punt of the night, a nice 49 yarder, and Saint James took over
on their own 18 yard line with less than 5 minutes remaining
until halftime. They embarked on a 14 play drive which ate
up almost all of the second quarter clock. Conner had a 2
yard run on fourth down to keep the drive alive, and followed it
up later with a powering 30 yard run. Interesting in this
game - the teams combined for seven fourth down conversion
attempts and all seven were successful. Houser and Huff
caught short passes to move the ball to the Eagle 10, and then
consecutive runs by Jackson of 7 and 3 yards gave him his third
touchdown of the half and a Trojan 21 - 14 lead.
Carroll almost had a chance to score late in the half after an
out of bounds kick, but Braylen Corley intercepted a deep pass
to preserve the Saint James lead.
The Eagles took only four plays to score to start the second
half, and it was again Peylon Plott who broke away from Trojan
pursuers for a 68 yard touchdown run and the extra point again
tied the score at 21. Grant Phillips, subbing for the
injured Anderson, returned the ensuing kickoff to the 29, and
Saint James scored on its sixth play of the third quarter - a 58
yard touchdown pass to Offord which was more like a 10 yard fine
catch and pull away run. Huff's extra point gave Saint
James a 28 - 21 lead midway through the third quarter.
After yet another Huff endzone kick, Carroll began another
drive. At the end of a rare pass attempt, much less a
completion, several Trojans wrestled the ball away from Eagle
pass receiver at the 48 yard line and took over
possession. On first down, Pruitt broke away for a career
long 41 yard run and was just stopped short of a touchdown by
the last possible defender. Saint James was lucky to
retain possession after a bad snap, but on second down from the
16 Jackson found Houser on a nice slant route for a 16 yard
touchdown catch and run. For the first time in the game, a
team had more than a 7 point lead as the extra point made the
score 35 - 21 with several minutes remaining in the third
quarter.
Four more plays were all it took for Carroll to cut the lead in
half. On third down from their own 27, Plott broke away on
another long run, this one a 55 yarder, before finally being
brought down. On the next play, he simply handed off to
Person who trotted the final 18 yards for a touchdown and the
score was 35 - 28 in the last minute of the quarter.
A holding penalty stalled the next Trojan drive from the start,
but another fine punt by Berrey pushed the Eagles back to their
own 24 yard line. No matter to them the distance.
After a two yard loss on first down, Plott again took matters
into his own hands, and feet, and raced 78 yards for his third
long touchdown scamper. Daniels' extra point tied the
score yet again at 35 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
A pooch kickoff gave the Trojans first down at their own 26 and
the embarked on an extended drive which would take up more than
half of the final quarter clock time. Evan Richardson
caught a key 29 yard pass which converted a difficult third down
and 16. Three plays later, Pruitt converted another key
third down to the 49 yard line, but on the play he fell upon a
Carroll player who appeared to be seriously injured. He
was placed on a backboard with a neck brace for precautionary
measures and taken to the hospital although last we heard it
appeared he would be all right, thankfully. The nearly 20
minute delay did cast an eerie feeling of shutdown in such a
competitive game, but it did continue. Pruitt, Jackson,
and D.J. Pollard shared runs for the remainder of the drive
until Saint James reached the four yard line, where Jackson
tossed his third touchdown pass of the night, a four yarder to
Houser. However, the extra point boinked off the right
upright, the first miss in 13 such attempts by the combined
teams, giving the Trojans a 41 - 35 lead with 3:34 remaining.
Carroll got its best kickoff return of the night from Person who
returned to his own 47. Both teams used time outs as the
Eagles moved into Trojan territory. The defense forced a
desperation fourth down and 17 at the Saint James 43, but Plott
lifted a long pass to Person who won a 50/50 ball at the 4 yard
line for a 39 yard game saving gain. Person on the next
play rushed from 4 yards to tie the score, but the extra point
attempt was shanked wide right as the Trojan sidelines and fans
erupted as the game was tied at 41 with only 26 seconds
remaining. Offord returned the kickoff all the way to the
Eagle 47 giving Saint James a potential try for a game winning
field goal, but three incomplete passes and a fourth down
completion to Houser which only got down to the Eagle 15 yard
line before time expired forced Saint James' first overtime game
since the 2020 season.
As mentioned earlier, Saint James had won 9 of their 10 coin
tosses this season, and were certainly hoping for 10 of 11 to
start overtime. However, Carroll won the toss. For
years, the primary thinking was to opt for defense to start an
overtime period, but the Eagles went with the now evolving
theory of playing offense on the opening drive to force the
opponents to "know what they needed". From the 10 yard
line, Person was held to no gain on first down, but then Plott
picked up his fourth rushing touchdown of the contest, a 10
yarder, and the Daniels extra point gave Carroll its first, and
only, lead of the game at 48 - 41.
On the Trojans' first overtime possession, Pruitt was stopped
for a two yard loss on first down. On second down, Houser
made a great catch on a Jackson pass for 10 yards. On
third down, Jackson called his own number for his likewise
fourth rushing touchdown of the game to cut the ead to 48 -
47. In Saint James' 51 year football history, they have
never won a multiple overtime game. Coach Posey didn't
know that at the time, but now he says he did because he decided
for a two point conversion to decide the game and prevent a
second overtime. Saint James lined up as if Jackson were
going to call his number, but he handed off to Pruitt who found
a hole and dove into the endzone, barely but enough, to score
two points and ice an unbelievable victory for Saint James 49 -
48. Emotions were at the extreme both ends of the scale
following the conversions as Trojan fans rushed the field.
Pruitt did not score a touchdown on his career rushing day, but
his two point conversion will always be remembered.
With the victory, Saint James finished its second consecutive
regular season at 8 - 2 and then looked forward to starting the
2023 3A State Playoffs with a Thursday night game against a
former regular opponent, the Opp Bobcats. The game was
requested to be played on Thursday because of the Veterans' Day
Holiday being observed by most schools the following Friday.
PRESS BOX STATISTICS - GAME TEN
SAINT
JAMES
RUSHING
40
attempts
195
yards 4
TDs
(4.88 yards
per carry)
16
Conner
14 / 94 1
Jackson
17 / 49 (4 TDs)
21
Anderson
4 / 29 8
Pollard
5 / 23
PASSING
15 completions 29 attempts 0 INTs 242
yards 3 TDs
1
Jackson
15 - 29 - 0 242 yards 3 TDs
RECEIVING
10 Offord 2 / 86 (1 TD)
7
Houser 7 / 77 (2
TDs) 5
Richardson 1 / 29
4 Johnson 1 /
17
16 Conner 2 /
13
2
Carroll
1 / 11
3
Huff 1
/ 9
TOTAL
YARDS: 437
KICKS: XP 5 / 6
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS: 7
(EZ,59,OB,58,EZ,EZ,46) PUNTS:
2 (64 <school record>, 51)
KO RETURNS: 6 (21,0fc,21,26,5,41)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 25 (16 rushing, 8 passing, 1 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 7 / 13
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 4 / 4
FUMBLES: 3, lost 0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
FUMBLE RETURNS: 1 (0)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 3 / 20 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 27:25
CARROLL
RUSHING 39
attempts 492 yards 7 TDs (12.62 yards per
carry)
PASSING
4 completions 7 attempts 1 INT 0 TDs 49
yards
TOTAL
YARDS: 538
KICKS: XP 6 / 7
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT
CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 7
(49,OB,24,52,54,39,48)
PUNTS: 1 (48)
KO
RETURNS: 3 (17,17,28)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 18 (17 rushing, 1 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 2 / 7
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 3 / 3
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 0
FUMBLES:
2, lost 1
ACCEPTED
PENALTIES: 9 / 40 yards
TIME OF
POSSESSION: 20:35
RETURN TO THE
SAINT JAMES 2023 FOOTBALL HOMEPAGE