GAME 3:   Briarwood Christian 35, St. James 12

September 20, 1991    Carlisle Field.   Game Conditions:  not available

Briarwood Christian's Bart Yancey threw for four first half touchdown passes, two of those very near the end of quarters, and St. James could not likewise match the offensive prowess of the visiting Lions as they marched out of Carlisle Field with a 35-12 victory.

Briarwood was lucky to recover their own fumble on the opening kickoff return, and then began the game in a no huddle offense.  Yancey completed two passes to Jason Morgan for a total of 18 yards, and then fullback Ned Grier picked up 22 to the Trojan 28.  After two incomplete passes, Yancey completed an 11 yard pass to Morgan for a first down, and then a 17 yard touchdown pass to Chad Henderson.  Chris Hyche kicked the first of his five extra points, and the Lions were off to a quick 7-0 lead.

The Trojans decided ball control would be more effective and keep the no-huddle pass-happy Lion offense on the sidelines.  From the Trojan 23, Bryant Jones and Ken Turnipseed carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards.  A third down defensive offside penalty was followed by another first down run by Turnipseed.  On third down from the Lion 42, St. James attempted a trick play which didn't work as planned, but was as successful as hoped.  As St. James sent three receivers deep, quarterback Steve Barton handed off to Tray Ivey, who then pitched back to Barton.  The attempted "flea flicker" pass was intended for one of the deep receivers, but they were all covered.  Ivey, meanwhile, had slipped through the rushers and was wide open 5 yards downfield.  Barton found him, and thanks to a few great blocks by the downfield receivers, Ivey dodged and darted the remaining yardage into the endzone barely touched for a Trojan touchdown.  St. James opted for a two point pass which failed, but the Trojans had cut the lead to 1 as each team had scored on their opening possessions.

Momentum continued on the Trojan side as the Lions were forced to punt after a three and out.  However, two plays later on their own 28, a fumbled snap was recovered by the Lions and it took them only one play to cash in.  Yancey found Patrick Struble for a 28 yard touchdown pass with just 2 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.  Hyche's kick knocked the lead up to 8, at 14-6.

After a 13 yard carry by Jones to start the next St. James drive, the Trojans were forced to punt for the first time.  A sack of Yancey on first down was almost offset by an offside penalty on the next play, and then tailback Matt Denard broke loose for 40 yards.  Three plays later, Henderson caught a Yancey pass for a first down at the Trojan 2.  A touchdown run two plays later was negated by an offensive holding penalty in the endzone.  However, on the next play, Henderson was again the recipient of a Yancey pass, this time for 10 yards and a touchdown.  The Hyche kick gave Briarwood a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

The teams traded punts on their next drives, but Briarwood's Frank Bracato's punt was smartly downed at the Trojan 3.  From there, St. James was actually lucky to escape a safety, and punted from their 1 yard line with 62 seconds remaining in the half.  The kick was shanked out of bounds at the 23, giving Briarwood another chance to score.  Henderson was tackled inbounds on a great play after a 5 yard gain on first down, but on the next play Yancey found Jason Morgan for an 18 yard touchdown just before the half, and the Lions celebrated in the locker room with a 28-6 lead.

On the initial drive of the third quarter, the Trojans gambled on a fake punt on fourth and 3 from their own 35.  The play only gained 1 yard, and the Lions were threatening to score again.  Despite a sack and two fumbled snaps from a new center, the Lions got as close as the Trojan 20.  Yancey was looking to hook up with Henderson for their third touchdown combo, but Ivey intercepted for St. James at the 5 yard line, stopping a threat.  The Trojans picked up one first down, but a punt was shanked out of bounds for only 7 yards to the Trojan 25.  This time, Briarwood went to the ground as Matt Denard ran for 19 and 4 yards, and then Grier picked up the final 2 for a touchdown.  Hyche's kick would be the last score for Briarwood, as they were comfortably ahead 35-6 late in the third quarter.

After a half the distance major penalty for the Trojans on their next drive, they punted and Lion backup QB Jason Rhodes directed the team the rest of the way, primarily on the ground.  After the defense stopped the Lions, St. James' Chris Armstrong blocked a punt backwards out of bounds to the Lion 35.  Eight consecutive running plays, including the first three and the last three by Turnipseed, ate up the 35 yards, with Turnipseed scoring from 1 yard out on fourth down.  A quarterback carry for two points failed, and the score was 35-12.   Neither team threatened thereafter, turning the ball over several times each on downs, but the early passing of Yancey was enough to carry the Lions back to Shelby County with their second victory of the season.