2024 -
GAME 4
SAINT JAMES 21, Handley 18
HAN 0 6 6 6 18
STJ 7 0 7 7 21
Friday, September 13 7:00 PM Carlisle Field Game Conditions: Cloudy, windy Game Temperature: 74 Wind: ESE 15 - 25 MPH
SCORING SUMMARY:
STJ (1) 9:21 Offord 45 pass from Perry (Hines kick) 7 - 0
HAN (2) 9:39 Patterson 5 run (pass failed) 7 - 6
STJ (3) 11:15 Phillips 33 interception return (Hines kick) 14 - 6
HAN (3) 5:36 Daniel 1 run (run failed) 14 - 12
STJ (4) 7:39 Perry 41 run (Hines kick) 21 - 12
HAN (4) 1:40 Allen 25 pass from Patterson (kick blocked) 21 - 18
Handley won the coin toss and deferred giving Saint James the football immediately. Starting from the 35 yard line after an out of bounds kickoff, four running plays earned the Trojans a quick 20 yards. On the fifth play, Chase Perry lofted a post pass down the middle of the field and Tabor Offord had raced past a pair of defenders and caught the perfectly thrown ball for a catch and run touchdown. Dylan Hines' extra point gave Saint James a 7 - 0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Amazingly, with the remnants of Hurricane Francine continuing to affect the weather several days later, not a drop of rain fell during the ballgame, but the somewhat wet field raised the possibility of turnovers. After a Tiger pass reception and run, the ball was knocked out and fallen upon by Saint James. A holding penalty and a delay of game penalty prevented the Trojans from threatening, and from their own 39 yard line Handley embarked on a 14 play drive. They overcame several turnovers, and the workhorse running of Ja'Marcus Daniel and the short game passing of Corden Patterson grinded the ball down the field. On the fifth play of the second quarter, Patterson called his own number on third down from the Trojan 5 and bowled in for the touchdown. The extra point attempt snap was bad and Patterson, the place kick holder, scrambled desperately to find a receiver for a two point conversion but his pass was intercepted by Miles Zukowski for a failed conversion, and Saint James remained on top 7 - 6.
Neither team seriously threatened to score in the remainder of the first half. On the final Saint James drive, a tipped Perry pass was smartly corralled by lineman C.J. Edwards, who picked up 17 yards for a first down, but the Trojans could only get as deep as the Handley 30 before a sack ended the second quarter.
Again, almost a near duplicate to the previous game was the start of the third quarter. In reverse. On the second play, a far sideline pass was juggled by an open Tiger receiver. The ball was snatched away by Grant Phillips and he ran in the other direction. He was tackled on the goal line, but he had increased the lead with a 33 yard interception return. Hines' kick boosted the lead to 8 at 14 - 6. The Tigers picked up several first downs on their ensuing drive but pinned the Trojans inside their 10 yard line after a punt. A defensive pass interference penalty kept the drive alive briefly, but several plays later a botched handoff led to the football being picked up by Tiger Taevion Houston and he returned the fumble to the Trojan 9. Three consecutive runs by Daniel, of 4, 4, and 1 yards, quickly gave Handley their second touchdown. Being down by two, a two point conversion was called for. An illegal substitution penalty pushed the ball back to the 8 for the try, and a fumble on the snap led to another failed conversion, allowing Saint James to maintain its two point lead midway through quarter three.
The teams traded punts, and the Trojans started on their own 8 yard line as the third quarter clock was expiring. Similar to Handley's long drive earlier, Saint James travelled 92 yards in 11 plays. Pruitt Conner, back from a minor injury the previous week, began to find holes in the Tiger defensive line for yardage. A key play was a Perry pass to now-tight end Charlie Cutler for a 27 yard catch and run to the Tiger 43. Two plays later, from the 41, Perry was scrambling to find a receiver to convert a third down. Instead he found a hole on the left side of the line and emerged with no defenders within yards. He raced toward the far sidelines and scampered all the way into the endzone. Hines continued his perfect streak of extra points to give Saint James a two possession lead of nine points with nearly 8 minutes remaining in regulation.
Patterson began connecting on passes as the Tigers moved down the field. However, the Saint James defense stiffened as Handley could not convert a fourth down from the Trojan 14 yard line. Saint James earned one first down, but had to punt away and give the Tigers one final chance with 3:10 remaining. And one play after what looked to be a sure touchdown pass in the endzone was dropped, the Tigers converted a fourth down for a touchdown on a pass from Patterson to Makavian Allen, who darted through potential tacklers to give Handley their third touchdown. Being down by three points, a two point conversion attempt seemed unnecessary, so a kick was again attempted but it was smothered by the Trojans and the lead remained at 3, 21 - 18.
With only one timeout remaining, Handley had no choice but to attempt the onside kick. The bounces were good, but the kick was tipped by a Saint James upman and wobbled out of bounds, giving the Trojans good enough field position and little enough clock to finish the game and extend their unbeaten region streak to 25 games. Number 26 loomed if the Trojans could make their first ever trip to Talladega successful the following week.
PRESS BOX STATISTICS - GAME FOUR
SAINT JAMES RUSHING 36 attempts 69 yards 1 TD (1.92 yards per carry)
16
Conner
10 / 25 yards
4 Johnson 5
/ 13 15
Perry
9 / 10 (1 TD)
6
Phillips
6 /
9
7
Craig
2 / 6
2
Offord
1 / 4
30 Zukowski
3 / 2
PASSING 3 completions 9 attempts 0 INTs 83 yards 1 TD
15
Perry
3 - 9 - 0 83 yards 1 TD
RECEIVING
2
Offord
1 / 45 (TD) 87
Cutler
1 / 21 56
Edwards 1 / 17
TOTAL
YARDS: 152
KICKS: XP 3 / 3
FG 0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5
(33,30,22,38,50)
PUNTS:
4 (38,41,31,27)
KO RETURNS: 2 (28,17)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST
DOWNS: 10 (6 rushing, 3 passing, 1
penalty)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 5 / 12
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 0 / 2
FUMBLES: 1,
lost 1
TURNOVER
MARGIN: + 1
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (33TD)
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 7
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 8 / 45 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 24:18
HANDLEY
RUSHING 34 attempts 103 yards
2 TDs (3.03 yards per carry)
PASSING
12 completions 23 attempts 1 INT 157
yards 1 TD
TOTAL
YARDS: 260
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 2
KICKOFFS: 4 (OB,49,45,15) PUNTS: 4 (30,23,30,37)
KO RETURNS: 4 (0,0fc,1,31) PUNT RETURNS: 1 (18)
FIRST DOWNS: 15 (6 rushing, 9 passing)
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: 5 / 12
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS: 1 / 2
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: 6
FUMBLE RETURN: 1 (11)
ACCEPTED PENALTIES: 12 / 100 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:42