2023 - GAME 13

  SAINT JAMES 28, Thomasville 26 
 
  STJ         7      14        7        0            28

  THO        0      13      13        0            26

Friday, November 24, 2023   Anderson Field, Thomasville.

SCORING SUMMARY

 STJ   (1)    ------    Pruitt 4 run                                                      (Huff kick)     7 -   0
THO  (2)    ------    Cowan 10 run                                                 (kick failed)     7 -   6
 STJ   (2)     5:20    Jackson 5 run                                                  (Huff kick)   14 -   6
THO  (2)     4:29    Bryant 72 run                                        (Thompson kick)   14 - 13
 STJ   (2)     0:17    Houser 12 pass from Jackson                        (Huff kick)    21 - 13
THO  (3)     5:43    Bryant 22 run                                        (Thompson kick)   21 - 20
 STJ   (3)     4:42    Offord 81 pass from Jackson                         (Huff kick)   28 - 20
THO  (3)     0:04    Cowan 2 run                                                    (run failed)   28 - 26

Saint James started the game with excellent field position as Tabor Offord returned the opening kickoff to the Trojan 48 yard line.  K.J. Jackson completed a pass to Clint Houser for 31 yards on first down and Saint James was quickly in scoring territory.  Jackson later overcame two illegal procedure penalties with back to back seven yard scampers, the second advancing the ball to the Tiger 4.   Two plays later, short yardage specialist Conner Pruitt took the handoff and dove in for a 4 yard touchdown.  Jake Huff converted the extra point, and the Trojans were up 7 - 0.  Scoring times were not available for the first several tallies.

The Tigers were held to a three and out on their initial drive, but the Trojans were pinned at their own 26 after a fine punt.  The next drives for both teams were also three and outs, but Thomasville at least temporarily won the field position battle as Saint James was forced to start from its own 10 yard line after a penalty.  Cole Anderson broke away for a 37 yard run on first down, and later in the drive Pruitt gained 13 yards to give the Trojans a first down at the Tiger 34.  However, two plays later, a Jackson pass was intercepted by K.J. Holt and returned to the Thomasville 48 giving them their best field position yet.  A 17 yard completion from Tiger quarterback Beau Bryant to Ryan Pugh, plus a 15 yard face mask penalty, gave Thomasville a first down deep in Saint James territory as the first quarter ended.  Three consecutive runs by Decorian Cowan, the third one for a 10 yard touchdown, put the Tigers on the board but a missed extra point allowed the Trojans to retain a narrow lead at 7 - 6.

Another good kickoff return by Offord gave the Trojans first down at their own 44, and they would embark on a 13 play drive which would eat up more than half of the second quarter clock to extend their lead.  A ten yard completion to Offord was negated by a penalty, but an eleven yard completion to Offord on the next play earned a first down.  Jake Huff was on the receiving end of a third down and seven pass which gained 24 yards down to the Thomasville 17.  After another penalty, Houser caught a 13 yard pass to set up a third down and short at the Tiger 7.  Jackson converted on the next play, and after consecutive incomplete passes he called his own number for a 5 yard keeper and touchdown.  Huff's extra point increased the lead to 8, at 14 - 6, with just over 5 minutes remaining in the half.

That margin was very short-lived.  After an endzone kick, Bryant ran for 8 yards on first down.  On the next play, Dallas Bryant broke loose on a sweep play where he avoided and outran potential Trojan tacklers for a 72 yard touchdown.  This time, the extra point was good by Ace Thompson, and less than a minute after Jackson's score, Thomasville had again cut the lead to 1 point at 14 - 13.

A holding penalty on the kickoff return cost Saint James some initial yardage, but the Trojans utilized clock management ideally to finish off the half.  Cole Anderson caught an 11 yard pass to take the ball just short of midfield.  Jackson overcame a sack with a 17 yard pass completion to Offord and a fourth down conversion on a scramble.  From the 40 yard line, consecutive passes to Huff and Houser went for 13 and 15 yards, and on the next play Jackson found Houser open in the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown.  Huff's extra point increased the Trojan lead back to 8 at 21 - 13.

Thomasville had a brief chance to score as there was a defensive pass interference penalty on their first scrimmage play, but the first half expired on an incomplete pass.  Nevertheless, Thomasville would receive the second half kickoff.  Despite a short kickoff return to the 14 yard line, the Tigers would eat up more than half of the third quarter clock on a 13 play 86 yard drive.  All plays except for two incomplete pass attempts were on the ground, and Bryant and Cowan were the primary ground gainers.  Bryant rushed the final 22 yards for the touchdown, and Thompson's kick cut the lead once again to one point, at 21 - 20.

This time, Saint James prevented the one point lead from staying on the scoreboard too long.  On third down from the Trojan 19, Jackson lifted a deep pass to Offord which was caught 40 yards downfield and he outraced potential tacklers 81 yards to the endzone for a quick Saint James score.  Jake Huff'e extra point returned the lead, again, to eight points at 28 - 20.

The Tigers responded on a 10 play 80 yard drive, almost exclusively on the legs of Bryant.  His 53 yard burst on the second carry of the series moved the ball into Trojan territory, and he was rewarded with the final 2 yards and a touchdown with just 4 seconds remaining in the third quarter.  The Thomasville coaching staff was probably concerned to how few remaining possessions they may have had, so they opted for the tying two point conversion.  However, Bryant was tackled inside the one yard line and came up just short and the failed conversion resulted in what would perhaps surprisingly be the final score at 28 - 26.  However, the fourth quarter was far from empty in action terms.

The Trojans advanced the opening drive into Thomasville territory, but could not convert a fourth down and 2 on a play where a holding penalty would have negated a first down anyway.  A 21 yard by Bryant gave the Tigers a first down at the Trojan 30, but a pass incompletion on fourth down ended that drive as well.  Saint James benefited from a pair of 15 yard defensive penalties, but could not convert a fourth down from the Tiger 38 on, again, an incomplete fourth down pass attempt.  Bryant, who would easily end up with more than 200 yards rushing on the night, led a drive which encroached Trojan territory as deep as the Saint James 14 yard line.  A 10 yard run was negated by a critical holding penalty, pushing the ball back to the 25 yard line.  On third down, it was the defense of Jake Huff who prevented a potentially long quarterback gallop by Bryant as time was running low, and on fourth down an incomplete pass to the endzone turned the ball over to the Trojans who only needed two plays to run out the clock and for the second consecutive year advance to the fourth round of the playoffs in a familar spot, the Leopards' Den of Mobile Christian.

GAME THIRTEEN STATISTICS

SAINT JAMES   RUSHING   31 attempts  122 yards   2 TDs   (3.94 yards per carry)

                              21   Anderson         14 / 77 yards    1   Jackson    14 / 29   (1 TD)   16   Conner   3 / 16  (1 TD)

                              PASSING   12 completions  27 attempts  1 INT  237 yards  2 TDs

                                1   Jackson             12 - 27 - 1   237 yards  4 TDs

                              RECEIVING

                                3   Offord             3 / 109  (1 TD)   7   Houser            4 / 71  (1 TD)    3   Huff      2 / 37
                              21   Anderson        2 /   15                5   Richardson      1 /  5

                              TOTAL YARDS:   359

                              KICKS:      XP  4 / 4      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                              KICKOFFS:  5  (EZ,EZ,57,56,52)                     PUNTS:  1  (33)
                              KO RETURNS:   5  (20,20,5,14,6)                    PUNT RETURNS:  0
                              FIRST DOWNS:   19  (9 rushing, 8 passing, 2 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  7 / 12
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  2 / 4
                              FUMBLES:  0
                              TURNOVER MARGIN:  - 1
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:   0
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   8 / 70 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  not available

THOMASVILLE  RUSHING    49 attempts  371 yards  4 TDs  (7.57 yards per carry)
                              PASSING       2 completions  9 attempts  27 yards  0 INTs  0 TDs

                              TOTAL YARDS:  398

                              KICKS:      XP  2 / 3      FG   0 / 0
                              2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 1
                              KICKOFFS:  5  (32,36,28,54,36)                    PUNTS:  2  (46,34)
                              KO RETURNS:   3  (25,10,12)                       PUNT RETURNS:  0
                              FIRST DOWNS:  19  (17 rushing, 1 passing, 1 penalty)
                              THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  5 / 12
                              FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:   3 / 5
                              FUMBLES:  0
                              INTERCEPTION RETURN  1 / 24 yards
                              POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  6
                              ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  5 / 55 yards
                              TIME OF POSSESSION:  not available

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