November 10, 1995. South Lamar Field,
Millport.
Game
Conditions: Heavy rain, very windy Game
Temperature: 56 Wind: W 20 - 35
In
a
game which could best be described as being played in monsoon
conditions as a vicious November cold front sank down into
Alabama, the
South Lamar (County) Stallions, primarily on the legs of
19-year-old
running back Tim Hamilton's 205 yards in the muck, withstood
several
Trojan scoring opportunities and held on for a 6 - 0 first round
playoff victory in the first ever meeting in any sport between the
two
schools.
The hard steady rain began about three hours before game time and
continued well into the second half without abating. Moving
the
ball was tough at best, but St. James managed to enter Stallions
territory on their first drive before turning the ball over on
downs. After that, neither team could move the ball with any
consistency in the first half, and punts into the wind were lucky
to
clear ten yards net. Rain beat down the even wind-aided
punts as well.
The Stallions were stopped on their opening drive of the second
half,
but Hamilton's massive punt of 67 yards went far
through the endzone, giving the Trojans possession at their own
20. After a first down, a personal foul penalty on a seven
yard
run by Mark Berry gave the Trojans the ball at midfield.
Three
plays netted only five yards, and an into-the-wind punt travelled
only
13 yards. South Lamar was held to six yards on three plays,
and
somehow despite the wind advantage, a miskicked punt spun
backwards to
be downed at the Stallion 30. On first down, Sequon Herring
found
Jason Smith for a 13 yard first down catch and run. On the
next
play, St. James went for broke but the Herring pass intended for
Will
Webber was intercepted in the endzone.
Two plays later, however, Lucas Harris returned the favor and
returned
a Stallion interception 16 yards to the South Lamar 11 and it
appeared someone
would finally score. Three plays netted only two yards, and
St.
James lined up for a 26 yard field goal into the wind. The
Trojans attempted a fake and it went nowhere except backwards as
Herring was downed at the Stallion 21. However, with only 23
seconds remaining in the third period, St. James would have the
wind
advantage
in the final quarter and theoretically the advantage they needed.
However, they would trail on the scoreboard. For the first
and
only time in the game, Hamilton took a handoff and broke through
the
Trojan defense as he scampered down the sidelines for a 79 yard
touchdown run as the third quarter clock expired. The extra
point
failed, but the Stallions had the first, and what would be the
only
score of the game on their side.
The Trojans were stopped three and out on their first fourth
quarter
drive, but just missed recovering a fumble on the punt
return.
The Stallions kept the ball on the ground and ate clock. A
clipping penalty cost the Stallions a valuable first down, but by
the
time they had punted only 6:32 remained on the clock. St.
James
picked up two first downs and got back into South Lamar
territory. However, three plays of little or no gain led to
a
fourth down and 9 at the Stallion 42. A play somewhat
similar to the fake
field goal, a reverse, was attempted, and was just as futile as it
lost
13 yards.
St. James had to use all three timeouts on the next three rushing
plays, on which South Lamar gained 6 yards. The fourth down
play
just barely made enough yardage for the first down, according to a
dubious measurement, with just over a minute remaining. A
fumbled
snap on first down by the quarterback gave everyone on the
Stallion
sideline a scare, but the time taken to unload the pile and to run
the
next
two plays were more than enough time for South Lamar to claim the
victory, and the laundry staffs were rewarded with the thankless
job of
removing all that Lamar County mud from the jerseys as St. James
ended
another season in the first round playoffs on the road.
SIDELINE
STATISTICS - GAME ELEVEN (not yet available)