2009 - GAME 7
@ Alabama
Christian 42, St. James 9 
STJ
0 3
0
6 9
ACA
7
21 2
12 42
SCORING
SUMMARY:
ACA
(1)
2:53 Mays 7 run
(Nickolson kick) 0 - 7
STJ (2) 4:19 Weldon 36
FG
3 - 7
ACA (2) 4:00 Mays 72 run
(Nickolson kick) 3 - 14
ACA (2) 1:46 Creel 40 pass from Williams
(Nickolson
kick) 3 - 21
ACA (2) 1:19 Creel 36 interception
return
(Nickolson kick) 3 - 28
ACA (3) 6:09 Safety, runner tackled in
endzone
3
- 30
ACA (4) 7:54 Madison 9 run
(kick failed) 3 - 36
STJ (4) 3:31 Ketzler 2
run
(run
failed) 9 - 36
ACA (4) 1:27 Thomas 2
run
(kick
blocked) 9 - 42
October 9,
2009.
Wade Black Norton Memorial
Field. Game Conditions: Variably
cloudy, breezy
Game Temperature: 81 Wind: SW 12 mph
Nick Ostrye drives hard for yardage early against
Alabama Christian,
but it was tough against the Eagles defense all night
long.
Alabama Christian scored three touchdowns in the last four
minutes of
the second quarter, just after St. James had cut the lead to a
manageable four points, and the Eagles cruised in the second
half to a
42 - 9 victory over the Trojans, their first such win over St.
James
since 2004.
Neither team showed much offensive punch early in the
game. Mason
McCabe intercepted a Brooks Williams pass on the Eagles' first
series,
but the Trojans could not convert a first down. The teams
again
traded punts, and after a penalty Alabama Christian took over on
their
own 34 yard line. Four plays later, Danny Madison
completed a 32
yard halfback pass to Grant McKissick, and on the next play from
the
Trojan 7, Myles Mays wiggled into the endzone for the first
score of
the day. Jordan Nickolson's extra pont was good, and the
Eagles
had a 7 - 0 lead late in the first quarter.
St. James again could not convert a first down on its next two
possessions, but neither could ACA. The Trojans finally
got some
momentum after Forrest Taylor picked off a pass and returned it
into
Eagle territory. A pass reception by Brandyn Baker gave
the
Trojans their initial first down of the game midway through the
second
quarter, and a 13 yard carry by John Slayton on the next play
earned
another first down. However, the drive stalled, and B.J.
Weldon
was called upon to attempt a 36 yard field goal, which he
converted
into the wind, and the Trojans had cut the lead to 7 - 3 with
just over
four minutes remaining in the half. However, the next four
minutes were unkind to the Trojans to say the least.
On the first play after the Eagle kickoff return, Mays took the
handoff
on a right sweep, waited patiently for blocking to set up, and
then
darted forward through the first line of defense and avoided
most of
the rest of the defense on his way to a 72 yard touchdown run,
and
Nickolson's extra point pushed the lead to 14 - 3 just 19
seconds after
the Weldon field goal.
The Trojans did not convert a first down on their next drive,
and was
likely the unfortunate turning point of the game was a missed
referee's
call. The St. James punt was fielded by Jordan Creel, and
a
clinically textbook clipping penalty out in the open was missed,
or
overlooked, and what would have been a 15 yard penalty pushing
ACA back
inside their 20 turned instead into a return to midfield.
Three
plays later, after an encroachment penalty gave ACA a first
down,
Williams lifted a pass toward Jordan Creel. Despite the
pass
being underthrown, the ball bounced off the shoulder pads of the
defender and into Creel's hands where he scooted in for a 40
yard
touchdown catch and run. The extra point gave the Eagles a
21 - 3
lead with less than two minutes to go in the half.
Creel was the victimizer again as on the second scrimmage play,
he
intercepted a pass charging in front of a Trojan receiver, and
down the
near sidelines he was able to run 36 yards for another
touchdown, the
third in less than three minutes. Nickolson's extra point
gave
ACA a comfortable 28 - 3 lead, and despite a 20 yard run by
Slayton on
the first play after the kickoff return, St. James did not have
enough
time to complete a drive for a potential score.
St. James again failed to convert a first down, and the Eagles
appeared
to be driving for what would surely have been a clinching
touchdown. Mitchell's pass to Myles was complete and he
rambled
for 20 yards, but the ball was wrestled from his arms and St.
James
fell upon the fumble inside the Trojan 1 yard line.
However, the
Eagles stacked the box and dropped Slayton in the endzone for a
safety
on the next play, and ACA increased its lead to 30 - 3.
The
Eagles drove again after the free kick, but they could not
convert a
fourth down at the Trojan 13 to end a drive.
Two drives later, a Trojan fumble gave the Eagles possession at
the
Trojan 35, and 5 plays later, it was Danny Madison who started
to the
left, then completely reversed field to the right, scooting by
impeded
defenders for a 9 yard touchdown. The extra point failed,
but the
Eagles were up 36 - 3. St. James finally drove for a
touchdown
against a mix of Eagle defensive starters and
replacements. Lee
Ketzler, Nick Ostrye, and Slayton led the way exclusively on the
ground, with Slayton's 36 yard run down to the Eagles 5 the key
play. Three plays later, Ketzler kept himself for the
final two
yards and a Trojan touchdown. A two point conversion
failed, but
St. James had finally crossed the goal line in a 36 - 9
contest.
The final drive unfortunately featured a sequence with a blatant
personal foul and some untimely unsportsmanlike conduct
penalties, but
Cameron Thomas was called upon for four consecutive runs, the
final one
a 2 yarder for the final score of the game. The extra
point was
blocked, but the Eagles had wrapped up a convincing victory over
the
offensively stifled Trojans, and St. James turned their
attention to
the fourth and final city opponent of the year, Catholic.
SIDELINE
STATISTICS - GAME SEVEN
ST.
JAMES
RUSHING 39
attempts 127 yards 1 TD 3.26
yards per carry
20
Slayton 17 /
75 19
Ostrye
8 /
42
14
Poe
3
/ 14
9
Pattie
1
/ 1
13
Taylor
1
/
0
6
Ketzler 7
/ - 2 (TD)
7
Olsey
2
/ - 3
PASSING
4
completions 13 attempts 1 INT 29 yards 0
TDs (2 sacks of, - 21 yards)
6
Ketzler
3
- 9 - 0 20 yards (2 sacks of,
- 21)
14
Poe
1
- 3 - 1 9 yards
1
Weldon
0
- 1 - 0 0 yards
RECEIVING
1
Weldon
1 /
11 20
Slayton 2 /
10
45
Baker
1 / 8
TOTAL
YARDS: 156
KICKS:
XP 0 / 0
FG
1 / 1 (36 made)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0
/ 1
KICKOFFS:
4 (26,42,FK41,12)
PUNTS: 7 (30,30,36,33,30,26,40)
KO
RETURNS: 7 (2,6,24,2,15,0fc,0fc)
PUNT RETURNS: 2 (0fc,0fc)
INTERCEPTION
RETURNS: 2 (4,15)
FIRST
DOWNS: 9
(8
rushing, 1
passing)
FUMBLES: 4, lost 1
TURNOVER MARGIN: + 1
PENALTIES: 5 /
42 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 24:01
ACA
RUSHING
47
attempts 266
yards 4 TDs (5.66 yards per carry - Myles Mays 24 /
136)
PASSING
6 completions 10
attempts 2 INTs 128 yards 1 TD (1 sack of,
-
10 yards)
TOTAL
YARDS: 394
KICKS:
XP 4 / 6
FG
0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0
/ 0
KICKOFFS:
7 (35,52,36,42,27,30)
PUNTS: 3 (34,40,44)
KO
RETURNS: 4 (0fc,10,8,11)
PUNT RETURNS: 5 (0,0,4,14,-4)
INTERCEPTION
RETURNS: 1 (36TD)
FIRST
DOWNS: 17 (11
rushing, 4 passing, 2 penalty)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
PENALTIES: 8 / 62 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 23:59
RETURN
TO THE STJ FOOTBALL 2009 HOMEPAGE