OPP 6
7 3
13 |
6 35
October 15, 2004 7:00 PM.
Chenelle-Lee Stadium, Opp. Game Temperature: 60, clear,
brisk Wind W 10
In a game which featured
numerous lead changes, Opp overcame errors in their kicking game and
took advantage of five St. James turnovers as the Bobcats scored on the
first play of their overtime possession to take a hard fought
35 - 29 Region victory in another exciting game.
The first of five
turnovers, an interception of a tipped pass by Daniel Coleman which was
returned to the Trojan 33, set up Opp's first score. Three plays
after a first down halfback pass from Coleman to Brock Kelley, Jamoch
Stallworth took a handoff up the middle for 3 yards and a
touchdown. However, Kelley's extra point attempt was wide, but
the Bobcats had an early 6 - 0 lead.
St. James fumbled on their
second possession, but Opp, which committed all seven of their game
penalties in the first quarter, had a 27 yard run negated by a block in
the back. Several plays later, Matt Ward returned a punt into
Bobcat territory. The Trojans scored six plays later. Tyler
Murphy, with a school record passing yardage performance, completed
passes to Taylor Thompson, Matt Burke, and Matt Ward before Thompson
took a handoff for five yards and a touchdown. Graham Sutter
kicked his extra point and the Trojans were up 7 - 6 in the first
quarter.
The Trojans forced Opp to
punt, but committed their third turnover of the first quarter, throwing
an interception deep in Bobcat territory. However, a holding
penalty slowed the Bobcat effort. On the first play of the second
quarter, in a play which virtually duplicated one in Opp's previous
game against Trinity, a punt snap went over the head of the Opp punter
and he turned around and kicked the ball through his own end zone for a
safety. After the Bobcat free kick, St. James moved down the
field again
before a penalty slowed their momentum, and the Trojans failed on a
fourth down from the Bobcat 27.
Four plays later, Opp
committed their only turnover of the game, when Tyler Mask fell on a
Bobcat fumble at the Opp 48. St. James could not take advantage,
and punted, but forced Opp to punt as well. The punt was
deflected sideways, and Matt Ward returned it to the Bobcat 45.
Murphy, who had 77 yards rushing in addition to his 319 passing, picked
up 7 on a quarterback keeper. On the next play he passed wide to
Thompson, who outraced two defenders to the endzone with a 38 yard
catch and run touchdown. Sutter's extra point, despite being
deflected and whistled while the kick was still in mid-air, wobbled
over the crossbar giving St. James a 10 point lead at 16 - 6 late in
the
first half.
Not late enough. Opp
quarterback Ryan Cook completed passes of 13, 11, and 23 yards to put
the Bobcats deep in Trojan territory. From the 5, Jaquez
Henderson scored the first of his two touchdowns. Kelley
converted this extra point and with less than a minute to go in the
half, Opp was within 3. St. James had a late chance to
score. On the last play of the half, Murphy completed a pass to
Ward who lateralled to Thompson at the Bobcat 38, but he could only get
as far as the 25 as the halftime clock ran out.
Opp started the third
quarter with a nearly 7 minute 14 play drive, exclusively on the
ground. Henderson carried 9 times, but the drive stalled at the
Trojan 15. Kelley came on to kick a 30 yard field goal to tie the
game at 16. St. James ate up most of the remainder of the third
quarter with a 10 play drive of their own. Thompson hauled in a
30 yard reception, one of his school record 11 game catches, to put the
ball at the Opp 22. Two plays later, as Murphy was pressured for
one of the few times in the game, his pass which looked like a throw
away was sought out and caught by a sliding Bruce Alter for a first
down at the Bobcat 6. The Trojans got as close as the 1, but were
pushed back on third down, setting up Sutter to convert a 22 yard field
goal which put the Trojans back ahead, 19 - 16.
The last play of the third
quarter was indeed bizarre. From his own 36, Opp quarterback Cook
launched a pass toward Daniel Coleman. He and the Trojan defender
battled for the ball, and a flag was thrown. Coleman won the
battle and apparently ran the distance for a touchdown with his catch,
but at the time
the flag was thrown a whistle was blown. All the defenders
stopped, and even Coleman stopped on the way to the endzone as
confusion reigned. A defensive pass interference penalty was
called at the spot of the flag, the St. James 30 yard line.
However, the penalty would have been declined on the apparent 64 yard
touchdown catch. After an extensive discussion among the
officials, the touchdown was negated, much the deserved dismay of the
Bobcat fans, but the ball was marked at the 15 yard line, almost
arbitrarily in concession. Opp did eventually score, four plays
later, as Henderson carried in from the 3 yard line. However,
Kelley's extra point attempt was blocked and the Bobcat lead was only
3, at 22 - 19.
St. James threw an
interception on their next drive, but Opp was stopped soon after.
However, Cook's effective punt went out of bounds at the 8 yard
line. The
Trojans would have to travel 92 yards, and they did. Murphy ran
for 21 and tossed a pass and run to Matt Ward for 30 for the two
biggest chunks of yardage. Taylor Thompson caught a five yard
pass
to convert a third down, and on fourth and one from the three, Ward
took the handoff for three yards and a touchdown. Sutter's extra
point pushed the lead up to 4, at 26 - 22, with just over 3 minutes
remaining, making an Opp field goal a likely non-option.
The Bobcats didn't need
that option. After several incomplete passes, the Bobcats went
back to their running game. Cook, Kelley, and Henderson picked up
11, 12, and 13 yards on consecutive plays, and then Cook hooked up with
Coleman for a 22 yard touchdown pass. Kelley's extra point had
the Bobcats up by 3 with only 83 seconds left.
Opp tried a squib kick,
but it was picked up by Michael Stabler and returned just short of
midfield. After 3 plays picked up 10 yards, Murphy connected with
Alter over the middle for 22 yards. On the next play, Ward caught
a 10 yard pass and dragged a tackler out of bounds with 14.8 seconds
remaining at the 8 yard line. St. James tried two passes to the
endzone, one which was caught just out of the endzone, and another
fell incomplete. With 3.3 seconds left, Sutter was called on to
kick
from an angle, but he converted a field goal from 25 yards out and the
game was tied
at 29 as the stadium clock wailed, setting up an overtime situation,
the first for St. James since 1999.
St. James lost the coin
toss, and Opp elected to play defense first. After an incomplete
pass and a 4 yard run, Murphy's pass over the middle was intercepted by
Jaquez Henderson, who zigged and zagged through the Trojans before
finally being brought down across midfield. Opp was awarded their
first overtime possession, and Cook, who faked a pass, saw an opening
on the left and kept the ball on a wide keeper and strolled untouched
into the endzone on the first play, giving the Bobcats a well-earned
overtime win, keeping their playoff hopes alive, and postponing the
Trojans from clinching their playoff berth for at least another week.
GAME SEVEN
SIDELINE STATISTICS:
ST.
JAMES
RUSHING 28
attempts 126 yards 2 TDs (4.50
yards per carry)
9
Murphy 14 /
77
2 Thompson 4 / 28 (1 TD)
34
Hoover 4 /
11
30
Ward
6 / 10 (1 TD)
PASSING 22 completions 40 attempts 4
INTs 319 yards 1 TD (no sacks of)
9
Murphy 22 - 40 - 4 319
yards 1 TD (319 yards - school record)
RECEIVING
2
Thompson 11 / 154 (1
TD) 30
Ward 5 /
79 22
Alter 3 / 43
88
Burke
2 /
26
14
Enslen 1 /
17
(Thompson's 11 receptions - single game school record)
TOTAL YARDS: 435
KICKS: XP 3 /
3
FG 2 / 2 (22 made, 25 made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5 (56,52,42,51,48)
PUNTS: 1 (34)
KO RETURNS: 7 (21,39,21,9,25,17,18)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (15,7)
FIRST DOWNS: 19 (6 rushing, 13 passing)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN: - 4
PENALTIES: 6 / 35 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 22:41
OPP
RUSHING 43 attempts 160 yards 4 TDs (2
Jaquez Henderson 27 carries, 137 yards)
PASSING 12 completions 22 attempts 0
INTs 175 yards 1 TD (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 335