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ST. JAMES FOOTBALL 2009 |
(Week 7) at Livonia |
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St. James improves to 2-0 in district with 32-14 victory over Livonia
By
Kenny Hymel www.stjameswildcats.com October 16,
2009 LIVONIA, LA -- When team leader Jaleel
Steib left the game during the first drive with a
banged ankle, the St. James sophomore class stood up and practically said,
"we'll handle this one for you Jaleel." An all-sophomore stable of backs, that included Lester Verret, Kenny Armant, Larohn Cambre, and Roman Broden, created a very effective rushing-attack rotation
for St. James. St. James easily
finished with almost 250 yards of rushing, with Verret
leading the way near the 100-yard mark as St. James topped the Livonia
Wildcats 32-14. Steib would return later in the game
to kick kickoffs and extra points. Heavy rains the previous night created one of the
muddiest games St. James has ever played.
St. James responded with an old-fashion football scheme using a heavy
dose of power runs in the middle behind a pushing offensive line. The 'Cats also had a few of the little, but
important, things finally go their way as they built a quick first-quarter
scoring explosion. The game's opening drive lasted almost 4 minutes and
Lester Verret ended the drive when he blasted in on
a 1-yard run. The extra point was no
good, thus St. James held an early 6-0 lead. On the first play of offense for Livonia, the St. James
defense would come up big. Wildcat
sophomore Dominick Hooper intercepted a pass and took it back 30 yards for a
touchdown. The extra point was wide
giving St. James a 12-0 lead at the 7:53 mark in the first quarter. The St. James defense begin to show a "bend, but
not break" style as Livonia was able to drive the ball deep, but the St.
James defense forced them out of downs around the St. James 25-yard line. A few plays later, Wildcat quarterback Antoine Landry
found Kenny Armant in the end zone on a 25-yard
scoring hookup. Jaleel
Steib returned to the game to kick the extra point
and it would be good to give St. James a 19-0 lead with 1:07 left in the
first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, St. James picked up another
touchdown, this time as the result of a very costly error by Livonia. St. James kicked off and the ball rolled down
to the 1-yard line and then stopped.
Livonia began walking off the field not realizing that the football
was still alive. One Livonia player
made an effort to get to the ball but it would be too late
as St. James' Christian Verret would recover the ball
in the end zone for a touchdown. Steib's extra point blasted up St. James' first-quarter
point total to 26. A miss-assignment by the defense and a sloppy response
to a turnover would lead to Livonia picking up 14 points in the second
quarter. The Livonia Wildcats scored their first of the night on
a 49-yard pass. Next, Livonia
intercepted a pass around their own 10-yard line and
the Livonia defender would return the ball 75 yards down to the St. James
15-yard line. On the next play,
Livonia scored with a 15-yard run.
Both extra points were good making the game 26-14 going into halftime. St. James only got one more touchdown in the second
half, but it was ball-control offense and great play by the St. James defense
that would be the story. Lester Verret, now literally
covered head-to-toe with mud, began getting off multiple 4-6 yard runs. When the Livonia defense began to stiffen
against Verret, St. James turned to their passing
game. St. James then got 2 spectacular
catches from 2 different players to seal off the "put-away" score. The first big reception would be on a
third-and-long. Running back Roman
Broaden somehow caught the ball over his helmet while he was falling to the
mud to give St. James a first down. The next big reception would be a touchdown and it would
come from a freshman. With the ball on
the 10-yard line, Antoine Landry lofted up a high fade pass. Freshman Wildcat Shaquille Narcisse was well covered and had to spin around in mid
air, however, Naricisse came down with the football
and the touchdown. The extra point
would be no good making the score 32-14 at the 2:55 mark in the third
quarter. St. James would not pass the ball again, instead opting
to a ball-controlled running game to drain the fourth quarter clock before
taking a knee at the 2-yard line. St. James improves to 2-0 in their quest for the
District Championship. St. James will
hit the road again next week for "district-game 3" as they take on
the Port Allen Pelicans. NOTABLES Sophomores or freshmen scored 4 of the 5 touchdowns for
St. James. Senior quarterback Antoine
Landry was in the mix of two of those as Landry threw 2 touchdowns passes,
one to a sophomore, and one to a freshman.
The underclassmen are also coming up solid on defense as well. By the time the game was over, there was very little
grass left in the center of the field.
Former pro football commentator John Madden, known for loving tough-mouth,
in the mud and dirt football, would have loved to see this game. It is also worth noting that the St. James fans began to
step up as well. During a defensive
drive in the fourth quarter, the fans became the most vocal they have been
all year. We will never know if the
fans became a "12th-man" on that drive, but the Wildcats did come
up with another big stop during that series. |
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