GAME 9:   Catholic 49, St. James 6

October 20, 1989  Collier Field.   HOMECOMING   Game Conditions:   Clear, chilly just after record low 30.  Game temperature:  43

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St. James ran into a buzzsaw on Homecoming Night 1989, as the Catholic Knights needed to win and win by a large margin to ensure a playoff berth.  They did, and they did, with a 49 - 6 thumping of the undermanned Trojans on perhaps the coldest (K)night of Trojan football to date in a game with a bizarre ending for a blowout.

The night started poorly for the Trojans as they fumbled on their third play from scrimmage, with Catholic recovering on the St. James 14.  Two consecutive runs by Keith Tatum, of six and eight yards, quickly had the Knights in the endzone.    Matt Binns' extra point gave Catholic an early 7 - 0 lead.

With the top two quarterbacks for the Trojans on the bench injured, it was once again quarterback by committee for St. James, and not too successfully did the committee perform on this evening.  After a short punt gave the Knights the ball back at the Trojan 46, Catholic quarterback and eventual multi-sport coach J.R. Richardson called his own number for 24 yards on first down.  After another first down run of 13 by Charlie Ford, Richardson scored from 7 yards out and Binns gave the Knights a 14 - 0 lead not even halfway into the first quarter.

The Trojans had an inkling of momentum when a shanked kickoff was returned to the 42 yard line.  However, after a short completion, the only St. James pass completion of the night to a Trojan, the first of five completions to a Knight resulted in a 73 yard interception return by Ford, to the St. James 15.  From there, three plays later, Tatum scored his second touchdown from a yard out, and Catholic was up 21 - 0 and cruising early.

St. James picked up a first down and neared midfield on the next drive, but two consecutive quarterback losses resulted in another punt.  Richardson ran for 22 yards on the final play of the first quarter, but threw an interception on the first play of the second quarter as Will Parker picked off the pass and returned it 22 yards to the Knight 40.  However, after two short runs, two passes were incomplete and the Trojans turned the ball over on downs.  Three more Knight runs, a 22 yard scamper by Tatum, a 38 yard bolt by Ford, and a 3 yard keeper by Richardson had Catholic in the endzone again and the Trojan defense gasping for air.  For whatever reason, the Knights decided to try a two point pass on the conversion, much to the dismay of the Trojan fans deciding they were ready for the Homecoming celebration a bit early.  The pass was incomplete, but the lead was 27 just minutes into the second quarter.

The debacle continued as the Trojans fumbled the ensuing kickoff on an ill-fated toss reverse attempt, and Catholic was immediately in business on the Trojan three yard line, where it took Ford only one play to score on a carry.  After an offensive penalty on the extra point, Catholic again attempted a two point pass which failed, and the lead was 33 - 0 barely 15 minutes into the game.

St. James was forced to punt again, and Catholic decided to keep the ball on the ground.  They did pick up several first downs and significant yardage, but were stopped at the Trojan 10 yard line just before the half.  The Trojans' two biggest yardage plays of the game against a halftime prevent defense, 19 and 11 yard runs by Matt Thomas, were not enough to make the Trojan fans cheer as the teams left for halftime, as Catholic appeared to have the game in hand with a 33 point halftime lead.

After the Magic Carpet Ride presentation of Bethel Dimaggio as 1989 Homecoming Queen, it was back to football.  Catholic returned the only Trojan kickoff of the game to their own 39 yard line.  After a 9 yard run by Ford, Richardson completed his only two passes of the game, a 15 yarder to Bobby Bellinger, and a 37 yarder to John David Barranco for another touchdown.  Binns' extra point was good, and Catholic had reached the 40 point mark early in the third quarter.

On the next drive, St. James had a long run by Will Parker negated by a clip, much to the dismay of fans and coaches.  After another punt, Catholic ran out most of the third quarter on the ground, but Richardson was pressured on a pass attempt and fumbled at the Trojan 11.  After a 14 yard run by George and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Catholic, the referees called both coaches out and put the running clock in effect trying to maintain game control.

On the next play, Tatum intercepted a deep pass and returned it for Catholic to the Trojan 17.  However, two plays later on the final play of the third quarter, St. James forced another fumble.   After a first down run by George against defensive reserves however, a pass was intercepted by Barranco at the 47 and returned for Catholic's final touchdown.  Binns' kick was wide, leaving the score at 46 - 0.   The Trojans punted again after one first down, and Catholic drove as far as the Trojan four before being stopped for a six yard loss on third down.  On fourth down, Catholic called for the option of a field goal versus going for the touchdown in a no-win situation, and Binns connected, giving Catholic a 49 point lead with less than four minutes remaining.

The Trojans tied a school record by tossing their fifth interception on their last offensive drive, and it appeared St. James would be scoreless on Homecoming.  However, on the very last play of the game, the Trojans rushed backup Catholic quarterback Jason Justice, and before he could kneel down to end the contest and protect the shutout, one of the St. James rushers knocked the ball away from him.  Robert Enslen picked up the ball at the Catholic 33 and ran to the endzone as Catholic was on the field celebrating their victory as if nothing had happened.  Even though the clock had expired, game play was still in action, and a touchdown was declared, much to the anger of the celebrating Knights.  (Catholic does not recognize this touchdown in their game records, but after verification from officials, the touchdown was allowed to stand.)

During the play, the Knights had been flagged for too many players on the field as the celebrating started prematurely, and after the touchdown, control of the game was virtually lost by the referees.  Even though time had officially expired, several players on each team, and perhaps a coach or two, were ejected after a number of scuffles erupted.  The referees, after finally regaining some semblance of control, called the game wisely by not allowing a meaningless extra point attempt amidst all of the confusion and recklessness.  However, the Trojans had avoided the shutout despite Catholic's playoff clinching effort and at least had the last laugh to take home.

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