GAME 7: ST. JAMES 19, @ Keith 14
STJ
7
6 6
0 19
KEI
8 0
6 0
14
SCORING
SUMMARY:
(names of Keith players not available)
STJ (1)
1:39 Armstrong 25
run
(Darneille kick) 7
- 0
KEI (1)
0:30 # 37 9 run
(# 7
run) 7 - 8
STJ (2) 0:39 Pappas 2
run
(kick failed)
13 - 8
KEI (3) 11:46 # 14 82 kickoff
return
(run failed) 13 - 14
STJ (3) 5:18 Pappas 1 run
(run
failed) 19 - 14
October 14, 1994. Keith
Field. Game Conditions: not yet available
==============================================================================================================================
The Trojans overcame some mistakes and some miscalls in the kicking
game by dominating time of possession and keeping the ball out of the
hands of the dangerous Bear runningbacks as St. James clinched a
playoff spot with a 19 - 14 road victory over first time opponent Keith
of Orrville.
St. James was stopped on its first possession and a short punt gave
Keith good field position at their own 45. However, six plays
later on fourth and 2 from the Trojan 33, the defense held and gave the
ball back to St. James to begin one of their several extended drives of
the game. Cade Armstrong picked up 12 yards on the first third
down of the drive, and a seven yard offside penalty on third and four
gave St. James another first down in Bear territory. The sideline
markings and hashmarks were not well constructed, so ball and yardage
location was not precise. Five plays later, on third and six from
the 25, Armstrong called his own number and evaded Bears up on the
line, breaking away for a touchdown and the first score of the
game. Despite a nearly flagrant defensive holding call on the
extra point which was declined because Jason Darneille converted the
kick, St. James took a 7 - 0 lead late in the first quarter.
It would not be the last score of the opening stanza. On three
consecutive plays from their own 19, (# 14) ran for 14 and 58 yards,
and then after a hasty Trojan timeout, (# 9) carried in on the next
play for a 9 yard touchdown. A quarterback keeper by (# 7) on a
two point conversion gave Keith the lead at 8 - 7 with 30 seconds
remaining.
On the first play of the second quarter, an Armstrong pass was
intercepted by (# 57) at the Trojan 48 and returned for 11 yards,
giving Keith excellent field position. A holding penalty pushed
the Bears back, and on fourth down the only "attempted" punt by Keith
during the game was blocked and picked up by Armstrong at midfield and
returned for an apparent touchdown. However, strangely, a running
into the kicker penalty was called despite the block, and a 15 yard
penalty was assessed, giving the Bears a first down at the Trojan
30. Three plays netted a loss of four yards, and on fourth down,
Brian Brown intercepted the first of three passes for St. James on the
Trojan 18. With 7:36 left on the second quarter clock, the
Trojans ground the ball for nearly 7 of those minutes. A 15 yard
face mask penalty after a Mark Berry run picked up significant yardage,
and an offensive holding penalty was negated by the only St. James pass
completion of the night, a 22 yarder to Hunter Pappas from Armstrong on
third and 23. Berry barrelled for two yards on the next play for
the first down, and he and Pappas shared carries for the next 8 plays,
with Pappas scoring from the 2 with 39 seconds remaining in the
half. The extra point was no good, but St. James regained the
lead at 13 - 8, and Keith did not have sufficient time to mount a
threat late.
However, the lead would not last long. On the opening kickoff, (#
14) took the ball at the 18 and returned virtually untouched into the
endzone. The Trojans had time to recover to stop a quarterback
sweep from reaching the endzone for a second two point conversion, but
Keith was back on top by a point, 14 - 13.
The Trojans did not deviate from what had been working. Again, a
sustained drive of 78 yards consumed 13 plays and 6½ minutes off
the clock, including a Keith time out midway through. Pappas was
rewarded for his hard work on the drive with the final yard for the
touchdown. The Trojans tried for two with a bit of trickery on a
pitch to John Searcy, but he was stopped short of the goal line.
Yet, St. James was back on top 19 - 14 with over 17 minutes remaining
in the game.
The Bears nearly broke another kickoff for a touchdown, but a saving
tackle at the Bear 43 prevented another immediate lead change. On
first down, an illegal block in the back on a busted play pushed keith
back nearly 20 yards, and two plays later Armstrong intercepted a deep
pass at the St. James 33. He was slung down by the face mask,
giving St. James an extra 15 yards and a chance to perhaps salt the
game away with another long drive.
It appeared the Trojans were on the way as Pappas converted a third and
ten with an 18 yard run down to the Bear 22 on the last play of the
third quarter. Two plays later, an 8 yard run by Berry gave the
Trojans first and goal at the 7. But the Bear defense stood tall,
keeping the Trojans out of the endzone on fourth down from the Keith
3. A personal foul penalty after the change of possession gave
Keith some breathing room at their own 18. However, two plays
later the Bears fumbled and the Trojans were 20 yards away from a
score. Six plays later, on another fourth down, what appeared to
be a touchdown reception by Searcy was ruled out of bounds (again
thanks to the poorly marked field), but the Trojans had run off
all but 5 minutes of the fourth quarter clock on their unsuccessful
drives. Keith, starting from their own 3, generated minimal
offense and actually failed on fourth down from their own 11. St.
James tried to run out the clock, not overly eager to score, but left
29 seconds on the clock when they turned the ball over again at the
Keith 5. However, on the Bears' final scrimmage play, Mark Berry
shone defensively, picking off the third Keith pass of the evening at
the 23, allowing the clock to run out and granting St. James the chance
to actually win an area championship for the first time in 9 seasons
with a victory over Catholic in two weeks.
==============================================================================================================================
SIDELINE
STATISTICS - GAME SEVEN
ST.
JAMES
RUSHING 62 rushes 280 yards 3 TDs
(4.52
yards per carry)
17
Pappas 29 / 159
(2 TDs) 12
Armstrong 13 / 60 (1
TD) 69
Berry 11 / 42
21
Webber 4 /
13
20
Searcy
5 / 6
PASSING 1 completion 4
attempts 1
INT 22 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
12 Armstrong
1 - 4 - 1 22 yards
RECEIVING
17 Pappas 1 / 22
TOTAL YARDS: 302
KICKS:
XP 1 / 2
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 4 (46,24,42,47)
PUNTS: 1 (17)
KO RETURNS: 3 (15,5,-3)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 3
(0,0,0)
FIRST DOWNS: 20 (18 rushing, 2 penalty)
FUMBLES: 0
TURNOVER MARGIN: + 3
PENALTIES: 4 / 40 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 33:46
KEITH
RUSHING 18 attempts 117 yards
1
TD (6.50 yards per carry)
PASSING 1 completion 7
attempts 3 INTs 8 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 125
KICKS: XP 0 / 0
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 1 / 2
KICKOFFS: 3 (44,29,35)
PUNTS: 0
KO RETURNS: 4 (5,8,82TD,30)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (11)
FIRST DOWNS: 5 (4
rushing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 1, lost 1
PENALTIES: 8 / 82 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 14:14
RETURN
TO THE STJ FOOTBALL 1994 HOMEPAGE