2010 -
GAME 6
Headland 43, Saint
James 40 (OT) 
HEA 12
0 6
19 | 6
43
STJ
17
13 7
0 |
3 40
SCORING
SUMMARY:
STJ (1) 9:13 Meadows 26
FG
3
- 0
HEA (1) 6:51 Collins 47 pass from
Williams (kick
blocked) 3 - 6
STJ (1) 5:57 Slayton 41
pass from Duncan
(Meadows kick) 10 - 6
HEA (1) 2:29 Cushion 13 pass from
Williams
(run failed) 10 - 12
STJ (1) 1:01 Duncan 10
run
(Meadows kick) 17 - 12
STJ (2) 2:06 Slayton 45
pass from Duncan
(Meadows kick) 24 - 12
STJ (2) 0:29 Wachs 38
pass from Duncan
(kick failed) 30
- 12
HEA (3) 5:39 Cushion 5 pass from
Williams
(pass
failed) 30 - 18
STJ (3) 4:02 Duncan 3
run
(Meadows kick)
37 - 18
HEA (4) 11:48 Cushion 36 pass from
Williams (Walker
kick) 37 - 25
HEA (4) 8:30 Windham 10
run
(kick
failed) 37 - 31
HEA (4) 3:36 Williams 1
run
(kick
blocked) 37 - 37
STJ (OT1)
Meadows 27 FG
40 - 37
HEA (OT1) Cushion
10 run
40 - 43
October 1, 2010 Carlisle Field. HOMECOMING Game
Conditions: Clear Game Temperature: 76
Wind: N 5, diminishing
Saint James squandered a 19 point lead at the beginning of the
fourth quarter and could not stop Headland in overtime as the Rams
scored four touchdowns in the last 12 minutes plus to come from
behind and put a damper on the 2010 Homecoming celebration by
stealing a win from the Trojans, 43 - 40 in overtime.
The first quarter resembled the playing of an old 78 RPM
record. Both teams started off in no huddle offenses and
plays were being run one on top of each other with minimal breaks
in between. Also, scores were taking place on top of each
other and the game was being played at a frenzied pace. The
Trojans started their initial drive on their own 33. John
Slayton runs of 8 and 17 yards sandwiched a 29 yard pass from C.J.
Duncan to Taylor Wachs. However, the drive stalled and
Austin Meadows was called on to convert a 26 yard field goal,
which he did, and Saint James was up early 3 - 0 just minutes into
the game.
The Rams promptly responded with a 6 play 74 yard touchdown
drive. The two final plays were passes from Jahwon Williams
to Laboris Cushion for 12 yards, and then to Yorey Collins on a
catch and run for 47 yards and the score. The extra point
was blocked, but Headland had doubled the Trojans at 6 - 3 still
early in the first quarter.
William Olsey's 24 yard kickoff return gave the Trojans their
second consecutive start from their own 33. This time, the
entire 67 yards of remaining field were covered. On the
first play, an 11 yard run by Duncan, a subsequent personal foul
penalty moved the ball across midfield. After Duncan was
stopped for no yardage on first down, he found Slayton open on the
right side with a toss and he cruised down the sidelines,
outrushing defenders, for a 41 yard touchdown. Meadows'
extra point gave the lead back to Saint James at 10 - 6 halfway
through the first quarter.
Headland responded again with a 10 play 64 yard drive. The
key play was an 18 yard pass from Williams to Peyton Money on
third down and 16. Two plays later, Williams found Cushion
for a 13 yard touchdown strike. A two point conversion run
was attempted, but Trevor Windham was stopped at the line of
scrimmage. However, the lead had again changed hands as the
Rams were now up 12 - 10. Ninety seconds later, the lead
changed hands once more. Olsey returned the kickoff to the
Trojan 35. Duncan broke loose on a 52 yard scramble down to
the Ram 13 on the first play, and after a 3 yard carry by Slayton,
Duncan kept off right tackle virtually untouched for the final 10
yards and the first rushing touchdown of the game. Meadows
connected on his third consecutive extra point and the Trojans
were back on top 17 -12 with still over a minute remaining in the
opening period.
Two penalties on the next drive stifled Headland and forced the
first punt of the game early in the second quarter. A nearly
blocked but shanked punt gave Saint James the ball at their own
32. Two sacks and a holding penalty on a long pass
completion stalled Saint James on their next drive, but the
Rams could not take advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty
before themselves having to punt again. With just over 2½
minutes remaining in the half, the Trojans took over on their own
36. Duncan rushed for 16 on first down. On third down,
Duncan lifted a long pass which went through defenders hands right
into those of John Slayton for his second long touchdown catch of
the night. Meadows' fourth extra point of the half gave
Saint James a 24 - 12 lead with just over 2 minutes remaining in
said half. However, the Trojans would dent the scoreboard
again before the halftime break.
After the kickoff from midfield (thanks to a defensive penalty on
the Slayton touchdown play), Headland could not get past their own
30 and Olsey returned their punt to midfield. A penalty on
the return pushed the ball back to the 40, but Saint James had 89
seconds to work with. Duncan picked up 18 on first down and
4 on the next play. After two incomplete passes, Duncan
threw what almost appeared to be a desperation pass on fourth
down, but Taylor Wachs outjumped a defender and came down with his
feet in the endzone just inside the near sideline boundary, and
Duncan had his third touchdown pass of the half, a 38
yarder. This time the extra point was wide, but Saint James
carried what seemed to be a safe 30 - 12 lead into halftime as
Allyson Argo, varsity cheerleader, was officially crowned
Homecoming Queen of 2010 during the break.
On their second drive of the third quarter, Headland took over at
the Trojan 49. An 11 yard run by Windham and an 18 yard pass
from Williams to Aaron Sanders helped advance the ball inside the
Saint James 10. On fourth and goal from the 5, it appeared
the Trojan defense was going to stiffen and prevent the score as
they pressured Williams throughout the backfield. However,
Cushion smartly came toward the quarterback and caught a pass just
inside the endzone at the completion of a lengthy play for the
touchdown. A conversion pass failed, but the Rams had cut
the lead to 30 - 18 midway through the third quarter.
Saint James quickly retaliated as Slayton broke loose on a 53 yard
run on the next scrimmage play. Three plays later, Duncan
socred on his second rushing touchdown of the night (making him
responsible for all five of the evening), and the extra point put
Saint James up by 19 points with 19 minutes remaining in the game.
Headland went three and out on their next drive, but on the third
play of the Saint James possession, Duncan attempted a sideline
pass which was intercepted on a great sideline catch by his
opposing quarterback Williams in the defensive back role.
That play seemed to be the turning point near the end of the third
period, and on the opening play of the fourth, Williams found
Cushion for a 36 yard catch and run touchdown. The Rams
converted their only extra point of the evening after this
touchdown, but the score was still 37 - 25 in favor of Saint James
early in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans were held to a three and out, and a personal foul
after the Ram punt return just rolled the momentum moreso to the
Headland side. Two passes picked up 40 yards, and Williams
kept from 2 yards out for another touchdown. The crucial
extra point was blocked, meaning the 12 point lead was only cut in
half to 37 - 31, but with 8½ minutes remaining the Saint James
faithful were deservedly nervous. On the next drive, Duncan
carried for 5 and 3 yards, leaving a third down and 2. A
first down would have made huge inroads on yardage and the clock,
but on third down a busted handoff which the Trojans were lucky to
hold onto resulted in a costly 2 yard loss. On fourth down
from their own 32, the ball was snapped directly to Lee Ketzler
the upback as he tried to rush for the crucial first down, but he
was dropped four feet short and Headland suddenly had the ball and
excellent field position to go for the tying score. They
succeeded, despite two holding penalties, one of which prevented
another Williams to Cushion touchdown pass. However, from
the 1, Williams scored with 3:36 remaining. An illegal
procedure penalty on the extra point pushed the ball back five
yards, and again the Trojans broke through the line and blocked
the extra point attempt, leaving the score amazingly tied at 37.
Saint James had no intention of playing for overtime. A 28
yard pass to Wachs on the next drive moved the ball into Ram
territory, but three plays netted no yards. Wilson Adams'
punt was downed at the Headland 8 with 2:15 remaining. The
Rams were unable to gain significant yardage, and a short
into-the-wind punt was fair caught by Olsey at the Headland 38
with 1:28 remaining and the Trojans ready to drive for a potential
winning score. However, on the second play Headland managed
to wrestle the ball away from Duncan in a tackling scrum, forcing
the second costly turnover of the evening. The Rams threw
several incomplete passes, and were penalized for trying to call a
fourth second half time out, finally settling for overtime as the
last pass of regulation also fell incomplete.
As always, the coin toss is often the most important action of
overtime. Headland won the toss and elected to play defense
in the opening overtime. The Trojans took over at the 10
yard line in the north endzone. Wachs caught a 5 yard pass
from Duncan on first down, but a troublesome toss sweep play gave
back those yards on second down. A Duncan pass intended for
Lee Ketzler in the endzone was nearly intercepted but fortunately
fell to the ground on third down, leaving Saint James no option
but to attempt a field goal. From 27 yards, Meadows
converted, and the Trojans had a 40 - 37 lead. It was very
shortlived. On the Rams' first play of their overtime
possession, Laboris Cushion took the handoff and danced around
right end and blasted his way through three potential tacklers,
just crossing the goal line before going out of bounds on the far
side, and Headland had scored the necessary touchdown to give them
their second region win and fourth overall win of the season.
The loss was a heartbreaker for Saint James. It was their
first overtime game since 2004, but their fourth consecutive loss
in an overtime game. It was also the first time in school
history the Trojans had ever scored 30 or more points and not been
victorious. Even though the Homecoming mood had nearly
vanished since halftime, Saint James knew the next game against
similarly struggling city rival Alabama Christian would point the
direction the 2010 Trojans would take and eventually be remembered
for.
SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME SIX
SAINT
JAMES RUSHING 36 attempts 213
yards 2 TDs 5.92 yards per carry
5
Duncan 24 /
128 (2 TDs) 20
Slayton 8 /
83 6
Ketzler 1 /
3
19
Ostrye
1
/
2
4
Woodson 1 /
0 7
Olsey
1 / -3
PASSING
8 completions 18 attempts 1 INT 210 yards
3 TDs (3 sacks of, - 14 yards)
5
Duncan 8 - 17 - 1
210 yards 3 TDs (3 sacks, - 14 yards)
14
Poe
0
- 1 - 0 0 yards
RECEIVING
10
Wachs
5 / 126 (1 TD)
20
Slayton 2 /
86 (2 TDs) 6
Ketzler 1 / - 2
TOTAL
YARDS: 423
KICKS:
XP 4 / 5
FG
2 / 2 (26,27 made)
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 0
KICKOFFS:
7 (44,39,54,47,42,41,51)
PUNTS: 4
(40,32,46,40)
KO
RETURNS: 7 (11,24,26,22,13,13,24)
PUNT RETURNS:
3 (0,9,0fc)
FIRST
DOWNS: 14 (8 rushing, 5 passing)
FUMBLES: 3, lost 1
TURNOVER
MARGIN: - 2
PENALTIES: 6 / 64
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 20:16
HEADLAND RUSHING 46 attempts 204
yards 3 TDs (4.43 yards per carry)
PASSING
13 completions 25 attempts 0 INTs 213
yards 3 TDs (no sacks of)
TOTAL
YARDS: 417
KICKS:
XP 1 / 4
FG
0 / 0
2
POINT CONVERSIONS: 0 / 2
KICKOFFS:
7 (38,51,51,47,43,47,54)
PUNTS: 6
(14,35,30,32,31,26)
KO
RETURNS: 7 (10,14,24,25,1,18,21)
PUNT
RETURNS: 2 (3,12)
INTERCEPTION
RETURNS: 1 (0)
FUMBLE
RETURNS: 1 (- 2)
FIRST
DOWNS: 22 (11 rushing, 10 passing, 1 penalty)
FUMBLES: 1, lost 0
PENALTIES: 11 /
87 yards
TIME
OF POSSESSION: 27:44
RETURN
TO THE SAINT JAMES FOOTBALL 2010 HOMEPAGE