St. James continued its recent rash of turnovers, committing 6 this
game, 3 in the red zone, and despite outgaining Geneva more than 6 to 1
in yardage in the first half, earned no better than a halftime
tie. The Trojans could not reach the endzone in the second half
as the Panthers converted two very short drives into
touchdowns as they clinched the runner-up spot in Region 2 with a 19 -
7
victory over the Trojans at Carlisle Field.
The Trojans drove 80 yards on their first possession for a
touchdown. Tyler Murphy, who again threw for over 300 yards,
completed first down passes to Taylor Thompson for 12, Bruce Alter for
15, and converted a fourth and 1 with a nice 31 yard pass and run to
John Enslen which moved the ball down to the Panther 10. On third
down, Murphy fired a strike over the middle to Alter for the final 5
yards and an early touchdown.
After a Geneva three and out, St. James was driving again.
However, during a pass
completion down to the Panther 6, the ball was wrestled away by the
tacklers for the
first of those six costly turnovers. However, another three and
out and a punt return by Matt Ward had the Trojans again deep in
Panther territory starting a new drive at the 39. However, on the
second play of the second quarter, St. James fumbled again at the
Geneva 16. The Panthers were again forced to punt, and St. James
took over on their own 45. A nice catch by Alter advanced the
ball 22 yards, and Matt Burke caught another pass later for 14
yards. Alter's 9 yard reception gave St. James a fourth and 1 at
the 10, and after a time out, the Trojans elected to go for a field
goal. The kick appeared good from a distance but was waved wide
and ruled no good.
From there, Geneva finally got their offense in gear and converted
their first two first downs of the game, after the Trojans had racked
up eight. A sack later did force another Panther punt, and the
inadvertent
whistle rared its ugly head again in a Trojan game. A fair catch
attempt was
muffed by the Trojan receiver, but the whistle blew while the ball was
still
loose and in play. Rules require a replay in that instance, much
to the deserved anger of the Panther fans whose team had recovered
the muff. Trojan lineman Zach Sealy caught a pass after a
deflection, and St. James moved down to the Geneva 45 after two more
first downs. However, a Murphy pass was targeted well and
intercepted
over the middle by Michael Scott who had a running start from his own
38 and just eluded a Murphy tackle deep in Trojan territory to cash in
the interception return touchdown. Brian Haney kicked the extra
point, and Geneva had tied the game thanks to its defense.
After a St. James punt, Geneva had one last opportunity, but a Taylor
Thompson interception, what would be the only Geneva turnover of the
evening, at the Trojan 30 ended that threat.
The Panthers came out and moved the ball well on their initial second
half drive, almost exclusively on the ground. Geneva chose to
punt from
the Trojan 39, and the misfortune continued for St. James as the ball
hit the receiver on either the helmet or a shoulder pad and was quickly
pounced on by several Panthers at the Trojan 4 yard line. From
there, it took only one play for Josh Brownell to dart in for the
touchdown. However, the extra point was wide and Geneva's first
lead was shaky, at 13 - 7.
On the second play of the Trojan drive, Murphy completed his longest
pass of the year, a 62 yard post catch and run to Matt Ward, who
was finally brought down at the Panther 17. On third down from
the 10, a Murphy pass was tipped by receiver and defender, and landed
in the
hands of Geneva's Kyle Roney who was kneeling in the endzone. The
touchback was the result of the third red zone Trojan turnover of the
game. The Panthers picked up two
first downs by pass, and punted deep into Trojan territory as the third
quarter was ending.
St. James managed to get just short of midfield before punting again,
and the Geneva ground game began to grind out the fourth quarter
clock.
The Panthers went from their 25 to the Trojan 25 before attempting a 43
yard field goal which was plenty long but wide, and St. James was still
within one score with 5:34 remaining. However, the Trojans could
only gain 8 yards on 4 plays and turned the ball back over deep in
their own territory. On fourth down from the Trojan 18,
quarterback Jake Helms called his own number on a well-timed and
beautifully-executed quarterback bootleg run, being tackled within
inches of the endzone. On the next play, Anthony Dennard snuck
over from inside the one. Geneva tried a two point pass, but it
was batted down by Trojan Kevin Simpson. However, the lead had
grown to 12 with only 2½ minutes remaining.
The Trojans picked up one first down, but the sixth turnover proved to
be the nail in the coffin as Martell Myhand intercepted a pass and
returned it to the Trojan 19. St. James used time outs, but gave
up a first down on a fourth down encroachment penalty, and Geneva
simply ran out
the clock and locked up that all-important first round home playoff
game, resigning the Trojans to travel to tough territory for their
opening playoff matchup two weeks down the road.
GAME NINE SIDELINE
STATISTICS:
ST. JAMES
RUSHING 22 attempts 18 yards 0 TDs (<
1
yard per carry)
30
Ward 2 /
8 9
Murphy
12 /
7
34 Hoover 4 / 6
19 Newton 1 /
1 22
Alter
3 / - 4
PASSING 23 completions 36 attempts
3
INTs 302 yards 1 TD (2 sacks of, 12 yards)
9 Murphy 23 - 36 -
3 302 yards 1 TD
(2 sacks, - 12 yards)
RECEIVING
30
Ward 4 /
89 2
Thompson 8 /
80
22 Alter 5
/ 52 (1 TD)
14 Enslen 3
/ 51 19
Newton
1 /
15
88 Burke 1 / 14
70
Sealy 1
/ 1
TOTAL YARDS: 320
KICKS: XP 1 / 1
FG 0 / 1 (28 missed)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 2 (59,49)
PUNTS: 2 (40,42)
KO RETURNS: 1 (17)
PUNT RETURNS: 4 (0fc,8,0fc,0f)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 1 (0)
FIRST DOWNS: 15 (3 rushing, 12 passing)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 3
TURNOVER MARGIN: - 5
PENALTIES: 5 / 25 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 23:02
GENEVA
RUSHING 44 attempts 118 yards 2 TDs
(2.68 yards per carry)
PASSING 9 completions 15
attempts 1
INT 59 yards 0 TDs (1 sack of, 3 yards)
TOTAL YARDS: 177
KICKS: XP 1 / 2
FG 0 / 1 (43 missed)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 1
KICKOFFS: 4 (EZ,OB,56,EZ)
PUNTS:
6 (26,32,39,30,35,36)
KO RETURNS: 2 (5,22)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (8,17)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: 3 (62TD,0,13)
FIRST DOWNS: 13 (10 rushing, 2 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 0
PENALTIES: 1 / 5 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 24:58