2024 -
GAME 2
@ Montgomery Academy 35, Saint James 8
STJ 0 8 0 0 8
M A 7 14 7 7 35
Friday, August 30 7:00 PM McLemore Field
Game Conditions: Partly Cloudy, Hot Game Temperature: 91 WInds: negligible
SCORING SUMMARY
M A (1) 11:38 Vinson 64 pass from McBride (Ashworth kick) 0 - 7
STJ (2) 11:39 Caddell recovered blocked punt in endzone (Perry run) 8 - 7
M A (2) 9:30 McBride 20 run (Ashworth kick) 8 - 14
M A (2) 6:27 Friendly 42 interception return (Ashworth kick) 8 - 21
M A (3) 6:37 Gordon 10 pass from McBride (Ashworth kick) 8 - 28
M A (4) 11:52 Gordon 17 pass from McBride (Ashworth kick) 8 - 35
COMPLETE GAME RECAP
Saint James won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, but the Eagles took advantage on the first scrimmage play as D.J. Vinson found his way 15 yards beyond any defenders and was on the receiving end of a 64 yard toss by Reid McBride. Rob Ashworth's first of five consecutive points gave Montgomery Academy an immediate 7 - 0 lead just 22 seconds into the game.
After an endzone kickoff, it appeared the Trojans had evened the score several plays later. After a defensive offside penalty, Chase Perry connected on a pass to Braylen Corley for a quick 13 yards and a first down. On the next play Perry sought and located Tabor Offord down the far sidelines for what appeared to be a 62 yard answering touchdown. However, an ineligible receiver downfield penalty, the first of 12 accepted penalties and the first 5 of a dubious school record 132 penalty yards, negated the score. Offord responded with a 35 yard catch and run to move the ball into Eagles territory, but three incomplete passes and a fourth down sack ended the threat. The Eagles were as penalty-prone as the Trojans when a holding penalty thwarted their next drive.
Saint James again was a victim of poor field position as a dead ball personal foul penalty after a punt return pushed the ball back to their own 12 yard line. Neither team could do much offensively, primarily due to penalties, for the remainder of the first quarter. The Eagles were pushed back to their own 18 yard line after a holding penalty. After a pair of incomplete passes to start the second period, the Eagles lined up for a punt. The punt was blocked and went straight up into the air and bounced into the endzone where it was fallen upon by Jacob Caddell for a touchdown. Of the first three touchdowns this season for Saint James, two were directly results of opponent punt malfunctions. Before the extra point attempt, the Eagles were guilty of an illegal substitution, so Coach Blackwell decided to opt for a two point conversion. The snap was muffed by Perry, but it bounced up directly into his hands and he cradled the ball into the endzone for a two point conversion and the Trojans' first lead of the season at 8 - 7.
It did not last long. A Mac Benefield 11 yard run and a face mask penalty immediately advanced the ball into Saint James territory. Several plays later, on fourth and 1 from the 20 yard line, McBride called his own number on a quarterback keeper were wide containment was stood up and he trotted 20 yards on the near sidelines into the endzone. Ashworth's extra point put the Eagles back on top, for good, at 14 - 8.
The Trojans were stopped on a three and out, or so it appeared, as the Eagles committed a roughing the kicker penalty to extend the drive. However, a sack on the next play and a tipped pass over the middle on the following play was intercepted by Jarrett Friendly who dodged potential tacklers and eventually raced 42 yards into the endzone for another touchdown. The extra point gave Montgomery Academy a 13 point lead with still most of the second quarter to be played.
Yet another dead ball personal foul slowed the Saint James drive, but Montgomery Academy failed to convert a fourth down from their own 48 as time wore down in the half. After a defensive holding penalty and an 18 yard reception, the Trojans were threatening to score just before halftime, but on the next play Vinson showed off his defensive skills and intercepted a pass at the endzone, returning it to the 13 yard line. If the Trojans had timeouts remaining they could have forced another punt, but they had to waste two timeouts in the first quarter partially due to a malfunctioning play clock, which was finally abandoned and play time was kept on the field. The Eagles managed to run out first half time and went to the locker room with a two possession lead.
A dead ball personal foul penalty on the first scrimmage play of the third quarter did not bode well for Saint James. After a punt, the Eagles benefited from another 15 yard face mask penalty on a short pass completion. More slow and steady, Montgomery Academy rushed the ball down to the 10 yard line, where on fourth down and 1 McBride found Braden Gordon for a simple 10 yard swing pass touchdown, and the extra point boosted the Eagle lead to 20.
Penalties again played a part in the next Trojan drive as a possession was extended due to a defensive pass interference penalty. However, an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Eagles 38 turned the ball over. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Gordon was again the recipient of a McBride touchdown pass, his third of the evening, and the Eagles pretty much had the game in control at 35 - 8.
Athletes on both sides were beginning to feel the heat, literally, as someone went down with cramps on nearly every play of the fourth quarter. Neither team could get much going offensively. What would have been a fourth touchdown pass from McBride, this one to Vinson, was called back on the same penalty which erased the first drive near-touchdown pass of Saint James, an ineligible receiver downfield. Substitutes on both sides grinded out the final quarter, and the Eagles claimed victory in the fiftieth meeting all times between these Vaughn Road rivals.
As Coach Blackwell emphasized in his post-game speech, "the season begins (now)" as region play gets underway and Saint James hosts Bullock County and Handley in consecutive weeks.
PRESS BOX STATISTICS - GAME TWO
SAINT JAMES RUSHING 17 attempts minus 19 yards 0 TDs
6
Phillips
2 / 13 yards 16
Conner 7 /
10 35 Bass
2 / - 2
18
Aman
1 / -
2
15
Perry 5 / - 38
PASSING
10 completions 30 attempts 2 INTs 129
yards 0 TDs
15
Perry
10 - 29 - 2 129 yards
2
Offord
0 - 1 - 0
RECEIVING
2
Offord
3 / 55 yards 16
Conner 3 / 34
3 Corley
2 / 23
7
Craig
2 / 17
TOTAL
YARDS: 110
KICKS: XP 0 / 0
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 1
KICKOFFS: 2 (36,32)
PUNTS: 5
(43,34,36,42,43)
KO RETURNS: 6 (17,26,15,15,21,17)
PUNT
RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 9 (1 rushing, 5 passing, 3
penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 10
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 3
FUMBLES: 1,
lost 0
BLOCKED KICK RETURN: 1 (0,TD)
TURNOVER
MARGIN: - 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 8
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 12 / 132
yards (new school record, yardage)
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 21:16
MONT
ACAD
RUSHING 35 attempts 157 yards
1 TD (4.49 yards per carry)
PASSING
9 completions 21 attempts 0 INTs
144 yards 3 TDs
TOTAL
YARDS: 301
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 6 (EZ,55,57,51,52,52) PUNTS: 3 (29, bk-18,41EZ)
KO RETURNS: 2 (12,6) PUNT RETURNS: 2 (2,35)
FIRST DOWNS: 14 (8 rushing, 5 passing, 1 penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 2 (42TD,13)
FUMBLES: 0
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 12 / 96 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:44