STJ 10 7 7 17 41
November 8, 1996 Carlisle Field,
Montgomery. Game conditions: Clear, windy, wet
field (2" rain earlier in day) 52 degrees, wind NW 12, gusts 24
Alan Olsen ran for a touchdown
and threw for three more, totalling nearly 270 yards, and Jay Robertson
caught 9 of those passes for a school record 202 yards. Despite
the Trojans letting a 17 point lead slide away, they took control in
the second half and marched to a playoff-clinching 41 - 27 home area
victory over the Holtville Bulldogs.
Holtville muffed the opening
kickoff, the first of their 8 fumbles during the game, but held onto
the ball. For one play. The Trojans pounced on the next
play's fumble at the Bulldog 24. After a first down, St. James
lost yardage on two consecutive carries and despite gaining 10 yards on
a third down pass completion, they had to settle for a Keith Horn 27
yard field goal and an early 3 - 0 lead.
Holtville risked an early
fourth down and one on their own 39, and it failed. From there,
four plays later on fourth and 6, the Trojans were far more successful
on their attempt as Olsen found Jason Smith for a 35 yard catch and run
touchdown. Horn's extra point gave St. James a 10 - 0 lead midway
through the first quarter.
The Bulldogs again failed to
make a first down and punted, but St. James fumbled the ball away near
midfield. A 12 yard run by Holtville gave them their initial
first down of the game, but they later had to punt, nailing St. James
at their own 13 to begin the second quarter. Olsen, despite being
tackled, connected with Robertson for 30 yards and a big first
down. Two plays later, they connected again on a well-developed
screen pass for 46 yards and a touchdown. Horn's extra point,
just one of his 7 all-converted kicks on the night, gave the Trojans a
17 point lead early in the second quarter and what seemed to be the
dawning of a surprisingly easy victory.
Not So Fast! Two plays
after an out of bounds kickoff, Blake Floyd, moved from quarterback to
fullback due to injuries, broke loose on a
51 yard run to the Trojan 9. On third down from the 7, Holtville
finally scored on a 7 yard touchdown pass to Willie Sanders. The
extra point cut
the lead to a then-still comfortable 10.
During the next Trojan drive,
a Robertson completion for a first down was negated by offensive pass
interference, and St. James was forced to punt. However, the snap
was bobbled and the punter was tackled at the St. James 36.
Holtville promptly completed a 17 yard pass on the next play, but the
ball was knocked loose and wobbled around on wet ground for 10 seconds
before the Bulldogs pounced back atop the ball 3 yards further
downfield. From the 16, Tracy Salters carried into the endzone on
the next play, and despite a missed extra point, the momentum clearly
had switched to the side of the Green as they had closed to within 3.
St. James again drove on
Holtville but fumbled the ball away at the Bulldog 20. With 4
minutes remaining in the half, Holtville drove 80 yards and used almost
the entire clock. A 38 yard run and 34 yard pass reception by
Sanders were the big plays, along with a pass interference penalty in
the endzone with 49 seconds remaining. Holtville had used all of
their timeouts, but had enough time to run two plays; the second being
a quarterback sneak by Thomas just into the endzone for a touchdown,
and 20
straight points in less than 9 minutes had gobbled up a 17 point lead
and turned it into a 3 point halftime deficit.
Once again, on the first drive
of the second half, the Trojans moved the ball readily on the Bulldogs
in the middle of the field, but an incomplete pass on fourth down and
four resulted in another change of possession. However, two plays
later, Holtville returned the favor with their third lost fumble of the
game. After a five yard sack and a five yard run, Olsen sought
Robertson once again, and he responded by making the catch of the
season, even later in the referee's opinion, battling two defenders for
a one hand grab and a dragging foot to stay in bounds at the back of
the endzone for a 23 yard
touchdown. Horn's extra point returned the lead and the momentum
to St. James.
Holtville drove to the Trojan
22, overcoming a clipping penalty, but failed on fourth and ten.
A Smith run of 14 and another Robertson reception of 14 pushed the ball
back to the Bulldog side of the field. Robertson's 22 yard
reception moved the ball into the red zone on the second play of the
fourth quarter, but Richard Meadows, in to give Robertson a
well-deserved rest, was tackled on the screen play at the 3 yard on
third down. Horn kicked his second field goal of the game from
extra point length, and the St. James lead was back to 7 at 27 - 20.
The Bulldogs promptly fumbled
on their first play from scrimmage after an out of bounds
kickoff. A defensive personal foul penalty inside the ten yard
line was
key, and on fourth down from the one, Olsen managed to sneak behind the
left guard into the endzone. Horn's extra point gave St. James 17
straight points for the second time in the game, and a 34 - 20 lead.
After an unexpected, and
unsuccessful onside kick attempt, Holtville had a short field to
travel. The Bulldogs drove to the one yard line, but a third down
fumbled snap was kicked backwards to the 12 yard line, and a fourth
down pass was well defended by St. James and the drive was
thwarted. A Trojan punt four plays later was returned to the 36
yard line, and Holtville added a late touchdown as they brought in
Blake Floyd, now doubling as a
defensive lineman with a number 51 jersey to replace one ruined earlier
in the game to score on a handoff from one yard out.
However, the drive cost the Bulldogs their final time outs of the game,
and as the score was narrowed to 7 with still 3:18 remaining, Holtville
could no longer stop the clock.
St. James recovered the
Bulldog onside kick attempt, and frustration began to set in on the
Holtville side as their outside chance for a playoff berth was quickly
fading. A personal foul penalty following Robertson's final
catch, which put him over 200 yards for the night, moved the ball to
the 7, and Jake McMillan, the Trojans' leading rusher for the game,
took the ball 7 yards for the final Trojan touchdown
with 122 seconds remaining.
Holtville drove to near
midfield on their final possession of the season, but Rick Fidel
intercepted a pass at the Trojan 35 and St. James ran out the clock
looking toward a second playoff matchup against mighty St. Clair County
on the road the next week.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME TEN
ST JAMES: RUSHING: 48 carries 183 yards 2 TDs (3.81 yards per carry)
19 McMillan 12 /
87 (1 TD) 7 Smith
21 /
74 32
Meadows 2 / 34
21 Harris
6 /
25
2
Somerville 1 / -
3 63
McIntyre 1 / - 16
17
Olsen
5 / - 18 (1 TD)
PASSING: 13 completions 18 attempts 0 INTs 269 yards 3 TDs (2 sacks of, 17 yards)
17 Olsen 13 - 18 - 0 269 yards 3 TDs
RECEIVING:
44
Robertson 9 / 202 (2
TDs)
7
Smith 1 /
35 1 TD
19 McMillan
1 /
12
32
Meadows 1 /
10 88
Woodham 1 / 10
(Robertson's 202 yards - a school record for one game)
TOTAL YARDS: 452
KICKS: XP 5 / 5 FG 2 / 2 (60
Horn)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 8
(41,45,48,OB,46,OB,11,29)
PUNTS: 1 (32)
KO RETURNS: 5
(12,14,0,0,0)
PUNT RETURNS: 0
FIRST DOWNS: 18
(10
rushing, 7 passing, 1
penalty)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 2
TURNOVER MARGIN: + 2
PENALTIES: 4 / 32
TIME OF POSSESSION: 26:41
HOLTVILLE:
RUSHING 34
attempts 135 yards 3 TDs
(3.97 yards per carry)
PASSING 10 completions 17 attempts 1
INT 204 yards
TOTAL YARDS: 339
KICKS: XP 3 / 4 FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5 (44,36,23,42,14)
PUNTS: 2 (31,27)
KO RETURNS: 6
(3,15,18,19,0,4)
PUNT RETURNS: 1 (9)
FIRST DOWNS: 12 (4 rushing, 7 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 8, lost 3
PENALTIES: 5 / 63 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 21:19