GAME 8:   ST. JAMES 14, @ Catholic 6

St. James answered a second quarter Catholic touchdown almost immediately with one of their own, and held on to the ball and the lead on a soaked field during the second half to record its third victory of the season as the homestanding Knights remained winless, losing 14 - 6 at the hands of the Trojans.

Catholic's short opening kickoff was returned by Andy Roberson across midfield to the Knight 48.  However, the Trojans were forced to punt, pinning Catholic deep in their own territory.  St. James took over again after a Catholic punt on its own side of the field and drove as far as the Knight 24 before a holding penalty pushed them back.  However, on second and 18, quarterback Walter Moss was forced from his throwing pocket to scramble.  He picked up the previous penalty yardage, and 15 more after being hit out of bounds.  Four plays later, on fourth down and 1 from the 3, Hunter Pappas took the handoff for the first down and the touchdown.  Michael Johnston, still ably replacing the injured Tripp Vickers, kicked the extra point and St. James had a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Catholic could not convert a first down on their next drive, and the punt snap was bobbled and fallen on by the Knight punter at his own 25, giving St. James excellent field position.  However, after three plays lost a net yard, a fourth down play failed to gain a first down.  From their own 23, Catholic drove as the rain threatened once again.  From the Trojan 47, two consecutive passes of 34 and 13 yards had the Knights in the endzone.  However, an offensive offside penalty on the extra point forced the kick five yards back, where it was promptly missed, and the Trojans held a 1 point lead late in the first half.

It appeared after a kickoff return to the Trojan 30, St. James might be conservative headed into the first half.  However, on first down, quarterback Walter Moss burst off right tackle through the Knight line for a 45 yard gain, before a defender caught him after a slip on the wet turf.  Three plays later, on third and 11, Tray Ivey got the handoff and literally slipped through the wet hands of potential tacklers and dashed 26 yards into the endzone.  Johnston's extra point gave St. James an 8 point lead with just less than 2 minutes remaining in the half.

Catholic was lucky to not give St. James another chance at scoring in the half as the ensuing kickoff was muffed out of bounds.  The Trojans then used their timeouts and forced a blocked punt which was finally fallen on by a Knight at the Trojan 7.  On first down, Ivey took the handoff for an apparent touchdown, but a holding penalty negated the score.  From there, two plays later, a Moss pass intended for Pappas was intercepted in the endzone, and the Trojans appeared to have wasted a golden scoring opportunity to close out the second quarter.

The defense made sure the failure to score at the end of the first half wouldn't cost them in the second.  The teams spent the third quarter battling drizzle and the increasingly wet field.  Each team punted twice, but Cade Armstrong returned the second Knight punt to the Catholic 26.  After a four yard run by Moss, another apparent touchdown, a 22 yarder by Armstrong, was called back due to a third holding penalty.  Several plays later, a pass reception came up 4 yards short on fourth down.

Catholic did pick up two first downs on their possession which continued into the fourth quarter, but a quarterback snap led to another punt and a bobbled snap fallen on by the Catholic punter.  Several runs by Ivey, Moss, and Armstrong moved the ball deep into Knight territory, but St. James could not convert a fourth down and 3 at the Catholic 12.  The Knights did move the ball down the field with short passes and runs, but used up valuable clock time in the process.  On fourth down and four from the St. James 18, a pass was incomplete, giving the ball back to the Trojans with 127 seconds remaining.  Catholic used its three time outs on first, second, and third down, but the Ivey run on third down of four yards was good enough for a game clinching first down,   The last play of the game was too interesting for Trojan fans, as quarterback Moss was trying to run out the clock and fumbled the ball into a group of players.  While the players were fighting for the muddy ball, the clock expired and St. James celebrated with their first win over a city rival since defeating Catholic two years prior on the same field.  And even with a 3-5 record, a win in the final game over visiting Autaugaville would actually give them their first playoff appearance since 1985.

SIDELINE STATISTICS  - GAME EIGHT

ST. JAMES      RUSHING:     43 carries  182 yards   2 TDs  (4.23 yards per carry)

                        41   Ivey                    9 / 62  (1 TD)            10   Moss                 13 / 61
                        12   Ca. Armstrong    11 / 37                        17   Pappas              10 / 22  (1 TD)

                        PASSING:       2 completions  3 attempts  1 INT   14 yards  0 TDs  (no sacks of)

                        10   Moss            2 - 3 - 1      14 yards

                        RECEIVING:  

                        17   Pappas                 1 /  8                         12   Ca. Armstrong   1 /  6

                        TOTAL YARDS:  196

CATHOLIC     RUSHING   31 attempts  67 yards   0 TDs   (2.16 yards per carry)
                        PASSING   10 completions  19 attempts  0 INTs  145 yards  1 TD  (1 sack of, - 8 yards)
                        TOTAL YARDS:   212