GAME 2:   ST. JAMES 27, @ Highland Home 20  (OT)

September 14, 1990   Highland Home Field.  Game Conditions:  Cloudy, humid, light wind   Game Temperature:  78

St. James overcame a midgame offensive slump, and three turnovers, as Wade Hartley's second touchdown pass to Billy Byrd proved to be an overtime winner in Highland Home as the Trojans defeated the Flying Squadron 27-20 for their first win of the young season.

An offensive penalty impeded each teams' respective opening possessions.  On St. James' second possession, however, they traveled 72 yards in 8 plays for a touchdown exclusively on the ground.  Gabe Harris' 31 yard run on the second play of the drive, and his 20 yard run on the final play for the touchdown were the big yardage gainers.  His extra point failed, but the Trojans had an early 6-0 lead.

The second Squadron drive was equally effective as St. James', 74 yards in half the plays, all on the ground.  Rushes of 8, 9, 13, and 44 yards provided the touchdown.  The extra point gave the Squadron a one point lead late in the first quarter.

St. James recovered a pooch kickoff giving them good field position, but fumbled two plays later near midfield.  However, Highland Home could not convert a first down on fourth and 4 from the Trojan 41, coming up just short.  St. James lost a net of 4 yards on their possession, and a shanked punt traveled only 11 yards before going out of bounds.  From the Trojan 45, Highland Home scored 4 plays later on a 28 yard pass.  This time, however, the kick failed and a 7 point margin was maintained by the Squadron.

The Trojans, in the middle of six consecutive incomplete passes in six plays on three different drives, allowed a 37 yard punt return on a 27 yard punt, giving Highland Home great field possession at the Trojan 22.  It took 7 rushing plays, but the Squadron converted on fourth down and 1 with a quarterback sneak for the touchdown.  The extra point gave Highland Home a seemingly comfortable 14 point lead with 2½ minutes left in the half.

St. James traveled into Squadron territory, but an interception was returned to the Trojan 44 with 43 seconds remaining.  However, Highland Home could only complete one ten yard pass before time expired at the 34 yard line.

An onside kick attempt by St. James to start the third quarter failed, and Highland Home was on the march again on a short field.  However, from the Trojan 31, a fourth down and 4 play was stopped for no gain.  On first down, a 2 yard run by Jeff George was buoyed by a 15 yard 12-men-on-the-field penalty.  On the next play, Billy Byrd caught a Hartley pass for 29 yards.  An offside penalty moved the ball to the Squadron 17, and a Stephen Woodry run of 3 yards turned into a 10 yard gain with a half the distance spearing penalty.  From the 7, George ran for 6 setting up a quarterback sneak for Hartley, who scored from the one.  Gabe Harris, place kicker, picked up a bad snap and made an excellent run into the endzone for an impromptu 2 point conversion, and the Highland Home lead was cut to 6 midway through the third quarter.

Kick returning was regarded as the strong suit of the Squadron, but they never got a long Trojan kickoff to try and return.  This Trojan kick went out of bounds 20 yards down field.  Three plays netted only 9 yards, and the Squadron punted, instead of risking a fourth and one in their own territory.  A 20 yard run by Harris on first down was erased by a holding penalty, temporarily throttling down the Trojan momentum.  However, an 8 yard reception by Byrd and a 32 yard reception by Delahay were followed by a 26 yard run by Harris as the Highland Home defense was unable to stop the marching Trojans.  From the 17 yard line, George ran for 5 and then Hartley found Byrd open in the endzone for a 12 yard completion.  Since Harris, the place kicker, was on the sidelines recovering from his long runs, St. James opted for two with the score tied, but Hartley came up 2 feet short of the endzone on a sweep attempt, and the score remained deadlocked at 20 in the last minute of the third quarter.

St. James almost recovered another onside attempt, but the short kick gave Highland Home good field position to start the fourth quarter.  However, once inside Trojan territory, Highland Home self destructed with three offensive penalties, holding, clipping, and an illegal man downfield on a 14 yard pass completion.  The penalties gave the Squadron a fourth and 30 from their own 33, leading to a punt.  Another Squadron penalty, a defensive offsides, gave St. James a first down at the Highland Home 48.  However, an interception on the next play turned the ball back over.  The fifth Highland Home penalty in the first 4 minutes of the final quarter, an illegal motion penalty, led to another fourth down punt.  From the St. James 26 with just over 5 minutes to go, the Trojans tried to traverse the field for the winning score.  An 8 yard catch by Harris was followed by an 18 yard run by George.  Several plays later, on fourth and 5 from the Squadron 39, Delahay caught a short pass and ran all the way to the Highland Home 8 yard line.  However, the yardage was tempered by a taunting penalty after the play, giving St. James first down and goal at the 23.  Three plays netted only 4 yards, and Harris' field goal attempt from 36 yards failed with 1:02 remaining in regulation.  Highland Home opted to run the clock out from deep in their own territory to force overtime.

The Trojans lost the overtime toss, and the Squadron elected to play defense first in the initial overtime period.  Nevertheless, on the first play of overtime, Hartley found Billy Byrd, who had burned his coverage at the line of scrimmage, open in the endzone for a touchdown.  Harris' extra point was good, and the Trojans were up 27-20 in the first overtime.  The St. James defense, as it had done the entire second half, held the Squadron completely in check.  A two yard loss, a no gain, and a 1 yard sack led to a last chance fourth down from the 13.  A halfback screen pass was called for.  The blitzing Trojan defense fouled up the offensive motions, and despite the pass being completed, it only gained 3 yards, as the runner was tackled far short of the goal line, and St. James had its first victory of the season and first overtime victory in three years, making the 30 plus mile trip home up narrow highway 331 much happier.