St. James kept their
playoff hopes alive thanks in part to Graham Sutter's three field
goals, two huge and timely defensive stops inside the five yard line,
and a stubborn
ball control offense as the Trojans won their first game in three
chances at Opp by defeating the Bobcats 16 - 6.
For the first time in four games, the Trojans did not score a touchdown
on their opening drive; they were stopped on a three and out by an
inspired Opp defense. The Bobcats picked up one first down on a
22 yard pass from Cody Hall to Zach Spann, and got as close as the
Trojan 31 before turning the ball over on downs.
From their own 31, the Trojans moved deep into Opp territory. A
big catch by Graham Sutter on third and nine picked up the initial
first down, and two plays later his 13 yard catch earned another first
down. Several plays later, facing a fourth and 5 from the Opp 20,
Sutter was called in to kick a 37 yard field goal which he converted,
and St. James was up 3 - 0 late in the first quarter.
Donald Jones returned the ensuing kickoff from just outside the goal
line to midfield, and Opp quickly moved down the field in a quickly
moving game. On the second play of the second quarter, Jones kept
off the right side for a 10 yard touchdown. The extra point
attempt was wide, but the Bobcats had a 3 point lead.
The Trojans responded immediately. Starting again from their own
31, St. James travelled the entire 69 yards for a touchdown.
Chase Christian carried 5 times on the drive for 28 yards, and a
defensive offside penalty, one of very few penalties in the game, gave
St. James a key first down. On third and 7 from the Opp 15,
Clinton Freeman took the handoff wide and dove just into the endzone
for the score. Sutter's extra point put the Trojans back in the
lead by 4 midway through the second quarter.
After being stopped on the kickoff return at the 10 yard line, Opp
tried to score once more before halftime. A 12 yard reverse run
by Jones on third and 10 moved the ball out to the Opp 35, and on the
next play quarterback Hall threw deep to Klint Short. A Trojan
defender gambled on the interception but missed, and Short appeared to
be running free for a 65 yard touchdown reception. However,
Blaine Joyner ran down Short short of the goal line, at the 8 yard
line. With time running out in the half, three running plays
netted only 4 yards. On fourth down from the 4, a Hall pass was
low and incomplete and the Trojans maintained their four point lead at
halftime.
Opp drove the opening kickoff out to midfield, but again was stopped on
downs. St. James made use of the short field. First down
runs by Matt Dean and Nathan Newton advanced the ball to the Bobcat
22. Three plays later, Sutter was called on again and he
converted his second 37 yard field goal of the game, and the Trojan
lead was up to a touchdown at 13 - 6 midway through quarter 3.
The Bobcats were stopped three and out and punted for their only time
in the game. The Trojans were driving again, but a lost fumble,
perhaps surprisingly the only turnover in a game on a very soggy field,
gave Opp new life at their own 38. Three plays only gained three
yards, but an illegal substitution penalty on St. James changed a
punting situation into a fourth down and 2 attempt, which the Bobcats
converted after a timeout on a 23 yard run by Jones on the last play of
the third quarter.
Hall tossed an 11 yard pass to Jones for a first down, and then later
ran for his own, 10 yards to the Trojan 4. This time, three plays
only picked up one yard, and on fourth and 3, Jones was stuffed in the
backfield for a two yard loss and the fourth turnover on downs by the
Bobcats. With 8 plus minutes remaining in the game, the Trojans
wanted to grind out yardage and clock, which they did. Ten
consecutive running plays netted 67 yards, and a face mask penalty gave
the Trojans a first down at the Opp 19. A block in the back
penalty slowed the drive down, but several plays later Sutter was
called in to try the icing field goal which he kicked successfully from
35 yards, and the Trojans were up by 10 with 71 seconds to go.
Opp had one time out left, but it proved moot when Sutter executed an
onside kick to himself to allow the Trojans to run out the clock and
keep their playoff hopes alive.
SIDELINE
STATISTICS - GAME NINE
ST.
JAMES
RUSHING 49 attempts 227 yards 1 TD (4.63
yards per carry)
32
Christian
15 / 89
14
Dean 13 /
86
30 Freeman
11 / 40 (1 TD)
19
Newton
4 /
16
3
Martin 6 / - 4
PASSING 3 completions 6 attempts 0
INTs 32 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
3
Martin
2 - 4 - 0 20 yards
16
Enslen
1 - 2 - 0 12 yards
RECEIVING
4
Sutter
3 / 32
TOTAL YARDS: 259
KICKS: XP 1 / 1
FG 3 / 3 (37,37,35 made)
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 5 (49,59,44,58,12)
PUNTS: 1 (34)
KO RETURNS: 2 (26,7)
PUNT
RETURNS: 0
FIRST DOWNS: 16 (12 rushing, 2 passing, 2
penalty)
FUMBLES: 2, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN: - 1
PENALTIES: 3 / 20 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 27:42
OPP
RUSHING 33
attempts 126 yards 1 TD
(3.82 yards per carry)
PASSING 6 completions 15 attempts
0
INTs 120 yards 0 TDs (no sacks of)
TOTAL YARDS: 246
KICKS: XP 0 / 1
FG 0 / 0
2 POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS: 2 (44,36)
PUNTS: 1 (43)
KO RETURNS: 4
(39,9,8,28)
PUNT RETURNS: 1 (10)
FIRST DOWNS: 10 (5 rushing, 5 passing)
FUMBLES: 0
PENALTIES: 2 / 10 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION: 20:18