STJ 10 7 7 17 41
November 8, 1996 Carlisle
Field. Game conditions: Clear,
windy, wet
field (2" rain earlier in day) Game Temperature:
52 Wind NW 12, gusts 24
Alan Olsen ran for a
touchdown
and threw for three more, totalling nearly 270 passing 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
area
victory over the visiting Holtville Bulldogs.
Holtville muffed the
opening
kickoff, the first of their eight 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 six, 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 seven 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
seven, Holtville
finally scored on a touchdown pass to Willie Sanders.
The
extra point cut
the lead to a then-still comfortable ten point margin.
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 three 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 four points.
St. James again drove on
Holtville but fumbled the ball away at the Bulldog 20.
With four 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 Trojan 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 confirmed by 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 promptly 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 a screen pass at the
Bulldog three
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 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 unintentionally kicked backwards to the 12
yard line, and a fourth
down pass was well defended by St. James thwarting the
drive. 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 timeouts of
the game as the score was narrowed to seven points with still
3:18 remaining, yet Holtville
could no longer stop the clock by the timeout route.
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 Bulldog seven, and Jake McMillan, the Trojans' leading
rusher for the game,
took the ball the remaining yards for the final Trojan
touchdown
with 122 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
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 following 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
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