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ST. JAMES FOOTBALL 2009 |
(Jamboree) VS Hahnville |
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Wildcats struggle, but finish strong in Jamboree
By
Kenny Hymel www.stjameswildcats.com August 27,
2009 DESTREHAN, LA -- Somewhere during the second half, the St. James Wildcats found themselves down 21-0 to a strong Hahnville Tigers football team. Then, St. James decided to start playing like a typical St. James football team. The Wildcats came up with a big stop on defense and then put together a 98-yard drive on offense to close the Jamboree with a 21-6 score.
Going into tonight's Ed Reed Jamboree at Destrehan High School, St. James knew Hahnville had improved from previous seasons and would be a very difficult test. The Wildcats were also looking for more out of themselves after last week's sloppy showing in the scrimmage against Capitol. While the Wildcats lost 21-6 tonight, they found a bit of positives and the outstanding finishing drive of 98 yards may become the confidence builder to set the tone for the 2009 season.
The Jamboree followed the traditional format of two
15-minute halves. In the first half, St. James only had the ball for
about 3 minutes as Hahnville dominated the time of possession. Hahnville would put together two scoring drives in the first
half where the Wildcat defense couldn't seem to make
plays on third downs. About the only highlights for St. James in the
first half were a couple of big pass plays to receiver Alonzo Lewis on
offense. Nevertheless, St. James' defense did seem to make Hahnville work for their first two scores.
Hahnville's Alfred Blue -- a highly recruited running back -- gave St. James an excellent test defending the run. The results there were mixed. Blue was able to get off some great runs and scored on a 4-yard play. The Wildcat defense also stuffed Bell in the backfield on a few plays.
St. James kicked off to open the second half and then came out sloppy and tired on defense. Hahnville replied with a 21-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-0.
Hahnville would get the ball back and drive it into
Wildcat territory but the Wildcat defense came to life and forced the Tigers
to punt. Hahnville punted and downed the ball on the 2
yard line. The Wildcat offense then produced a remarkable drive that began when quarterback Antoine Landry hit Alonzo Lewis on about a 25-yard pass play. Running back Kenneth Armant then got of a nice run of about 20-yards. Jaleel Steib -- who played solid on both offense and defense -- caught a pass in the flat and then made people miss and broke tackles for about 20 more yards. Steib also came through big for St. James later in the drive. Steib picked up a first down on fourth-and-one from the 5 yard line and would eventually punch it in for a score on a 1-yard run. The extra point failed, thus making the score 21-6 at the 1:38 mark in the second half.
The Wildcats kicked off and then finished off the game by limiting Hahnville to just a few plays of positive yardage before the game clock expired.
St. James will now shift into regular-season mode as the "real deal" will begin in St. James next Friday night when the Wildcats take on the West St. John Rams in the season opener. NOTABLES St. James responded to last week's 7 turnovers by committing 0 tonight. Chalk that one up to coaching and team discipline.
Wildcat quarterback Antoine Landry seen significant
improvement tonight. Landry only threw 2 incompleted passes and looked composed
while rolling out to pass. The offensive line also did well in pass
blocking and giving Landry time to find receivers. Jaleel Steib seems to make something happen every time he's around the ball whether it be on offense or defense. Steib's style of play is a perfect example of typical "St. James" football.
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PUBLISHED ON: (August 28, 2009) |
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