2013 - GAME 1

@ Montgomery Academy 28, Saint James 13  
STJ         13       0       0       0        13
 
M A          0     21       7       0        28
SCORING SUMMARY:

STJ  (1)    5:55   Moody 4 run                         (Taylor kick)     7 -  0
STJ  (1)    4:08   Sharp 6 run                            (kick failed)   13 -   0
M A (2)  11:39   Thomas 66 punt return      (Rutledge kick)   13 -   7
M A (2)    5:54   Thomas 1 run                    (Rutledge kick)   13 - 14
M A (2)    0:38   Woolfolk 77 run                (Rutledge kick)   13 - 21
M A (3)    1:17   Woolfolk 57 run                (Rutledge kick)   13 - 28

August 30, 2013  McLemore Field.  Game Conditions:  Decreasing clouds, humid   Game Temperature:  84   Wind:  negligible
 

Saint James scored on two of its first three offensive possessions to take an early 13 - 0 lead.  However, costly penalties and big plays wrestled the momentum away from the Trojans while Montgomery Academy limited the Trojans to three non-productive second half possessions as the Eagles won the 41st meeting of the Vaughn Road rivals by a 28 - 13 margin.

Montgomery Academy won the opening coin toss of the season but deferred, so the Trojans possessed the ball first.  Frank Moody carried for 28 total yards on the first three scrimmage plays.  An illegal procedure penalty, one of eleven penalties (ten on offense) the Trojans would commit, slowed the momentum, but Coleman Adams boomed a punt to down the Eagles at their own four yard line.  Montgomery Academy only gained seven yards on three plays, and a pressured punt was shanked out of bounds giving Saint James excellent field position at the Eagle 25.

On first down, Moody broke loose for 21 yards down to the 4.  After a timeout, Moody bowled over Eagles from the four to earn his first touchdown of the season.  Coleman Taylor's extra point was good, and Saint James was up 7 - 0 midway through the first quarter.

The Eagles mishandled the kickoff and began their next possession on their own 17.  However, two plays later, a Justin Woolfolk fumble was recovered by Trojan Zach Taylor at the Eagle 11.  Saint James overcame a holding penalty on first down as Jake Sharp completed his first career pass, a 15 yarder to Jalen Harris, to move the ball down to the 6.  On the next play, Sharp kept the ball and darted into the endzone for a touchdown.  Taylor's extra point veered wide left, but the Trojans seemed in control early with a 13 - 0 lead.

After a fair catch on a high pop kickoff, the talented junior Josh Thomas went to work as Montgomery Academy quarterback.   He completed four passes on the next four plays; the final one a 27 yarder to Sam LaPlatney who was tackled just four feet short of the goal line.  Thomas would only complete one more pass to his own teammates the remainder of the game.  After a five yard loss and an incomplete pass, Thomas lifted a desperation pass into the endzone which was intercepted by Trojan newcomer Jaylen McCoy, who fell in the endzone to force a touchback.

On third and five, a fumbled snap to quarterback, one of several costly during the game, left the Trojans with a fourth down as the quarter expired.  And as the second quarter expired, the first quarter momentum quickly vanished.  Another fine punt by Adams of 41 yards went to Thomas, the lone receiver.  He slightly bobbled the catch which may have thrown off the rhythm of the punt pursuers.  After avoiding several tacklers in the first ten yards, he sped towards the near sidelines and outraced all chasers to the endzone for a 66 yard punt return touchdown.  Bennett Rutledge added the extra point and suddenly the Eagles were back in the game, down only 13 - 7.

The Trojans were moving again after a Moody first down gain to the 45.  However, backup quarterback Connor Collier had the ball knocked from him in what would be the only turnover committed by Saint James in the game.  It was not costly as Thomas made a poor decision to loft a high floating pass down the center of the field on the next play.  McCoy almost had his second interception in several minutes, but the ball was tipped and another Trojan newcomer, Drexton Andrews, came away with the interception and returned it to the Trojan 26.  Saint James could not convert a first down, and Adams was lucky to get away a punt at all after a snap went over his head.  The desperation punt after several yards of running went out of bounds at the 44.  Thomas kept the ball on the ground to earn several first downs, and Eagle backup quarterback Barton Lester picked up five yards on several carries of his own.  On fourth down and two from the Trojan 20, Thomas ran a sweep and was tackled less than a yard short of the endzone.  He was rewarded with a touchdown on a sneak on the next play, and Rutledge's successful extra point gave Montgomery Academy a perhaps surprising 14 - 13 lead midway through the first half.

Moody overcame more Trojan penalties with a 19 yard run and an 18 yard catch and run from Sharp.  However, a sack of Sharp forced another punt which was downed at the Eagle 11 with less than two minutes remaining.  After Sam Adams was dropped for a three yard loss on first down, it appeared the Eagles were content to run out the clock with the single point lead.  However, Woolfolk burst through the line for a 15 yard gain and a first down on the next play, and then disaster struck as Woolfolk took a handoff off the right side behind a fine block, avoided the few Trojan defenders who were not clustered in the middle of the field, and raced 77 yards for a touchdown late in the half.  Rutledge's extra point gave the Eagles an 8 point lead with 38 seconds remaining until halftime.

An out of bounds kickoff gave Saint James the ball on their own 35, and it appeared the Trojans had turned the tables as Moody broke tackle after tackle until finally reaching clear space at the Eagle 25 on what appeared to be a 65 yard thing of beauty touchdown.  However, an extremely costly holding penalty away from the runner pushed the ball back inside the Trojan 30.  Jonathan Robinson converted a first down, but time ran out as Sharp was sacked for the second time in a miserable quarter.

Montgomery Academy used ball control to chew up half of the third quarter on their opening possession of the second half.  Thomas completed his other pass to a teammate, Kit Birdsong, for 14 yards on third and 13 for a key first down.  The Eagles drove as far as the Saint James 37 before a punt was fair caught at the Trojan 11.  Moody and Robinson converted consecutive first down runs, but back to back false start penalties stalled another drive.  Another punt gave Montgomery Academy the ball at their own 29.  Two plays lost a net yard, but Woolfolk picked up fifteen on third and ten.  Similar to the end of the first half, a key run was followed by a long one as Woolfolk took the next carry into the endzone on the same call as before.  Rutledge's extra point gave the Eagles a 15 point lead late in the third quarter.

A long kickoff return by Robinson into Eagle territory was negated in great part by a block in the back penalty, and the Trojans were three and out as the third quarter ended.  A holding penalty by Montgomery Academy led to a three and out and the Trojans realized now was the time a score was necessary.  After converting one first down, the Trojans had fourth and 6 from the Eagle 41.  Adams, the punter, took the snap and sped forward into the line and raced to an 11 yard carry and a first down which Trojans fans hoped would be the play to change the momentum back in their favor.  Moody ran for 15 on the next play, and the Eagles immediately called what would be a prophetic timeout.  On first down from the Eagle 15, two consecutive fumbled quarterback snaps led to three yards of loss.  Nolan Fields made his first catch of the season on a 11 yard play which gave the Trojans fourth down at the Eagle 7.  However, what appeared to be called as a quarterback sneak misfired as perhaps another snap went awry, and Sharp was downed at the line of scrimmage.  With just over five minutes remaining, ball control was the name of the game for Montgomery Academy and Saint James never ran another offensive play.  Adams and Woolfolk were picking up double digit yardage repeatedly as Thomas maximized time between plays, and when the Eagles reached the Trojans 16 they realized no more plays had to be run as the Eagles had beaten the Trojans for the first time since 2009.

SIDELINE STATISTICS - GAME ONE

SAINT JAMES   RUSHING   42 attempts  203 yards  2 TDs  (4.83 yards per carry)

                         20   Moody        21 / 160  (1 TD)      1   Robinson           7 / 44        2   Adams             1 / 11
                           6   McCoy         2 /     3                12   Collier               1 / - 5      18   Sharp           10 / - 10  (1 TD)

                        PASSING   4 completions  11 attempts  0 INTs  45 yards  0 TDs

                         18   Sharp           4 - 10 - 0     45 yards
                         12   Collier          0 -   1 - 0

                        RECEIVING

                           9   Harris           2 / 21                 20   Moody               1 / 13       11   Fields               1 / 11

                        TOTAL YARDS:   248

                        KICKS:  XP  1 / 2                FG  0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS:  3  (48,29,47)                              PUNTS:  6  (40,41,24,38,31,29)
                        KO RETURNS:  4  (7,22,12,26)                      PUNT RETURNS:   1  (0fc)
                        FIRST DOWNS:   14   (13 rushing, 1 passing)
                        THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 10
                        FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 2
                        FUMBLES: 4, lost 1
                        TURNOVER MARGIN:   + 2
                        INTERCEPTION RETURNS:  2  (0,11)
                        POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  7
                        ACCEPTED PENALTIES:   11 / 76 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  24:34

MONT ACAD   RUSHING    38 attempts  323 yards  3 TDs  (8.50 per carry, 28 Woolfolk 12 / 216)
                        PASSING      5 completions  13 attempts  2 INTs  87 yards  0 TDs
                        TOTAL YARDS:  410

                        KICKS:  XP  4 / 4                FG   0 / 0
                        2 POINT CONVERSIONS:  0 / 0
                        KICKOFFS:  5  (42,52,46,OB,56)                  PUNTS:  3  (14,26,21)
                        KO RETURNS:  3  (5,0fc,15)                        PUNT RETURNS:  1  (66TD)
                        FIRST DOWNS:  18  (12 rushing, 5 passing. 1 penalty)
                        THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS:  2 / 7
                        FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS:  1 / 1
                        FUMBLES:  3, lost 1
                        POINTS OFF TURNOVERS:  0
                        ACCEPTED PENALTIES:  5 / 35 yards
                        TIME OF POSSESSION:  23:26

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