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ST. JAMES FOOTBALL 2009 |
(Week-8) at Port Allen |
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St. James falls to Port Allen 20-13; still control district hopes
By
Kenny Hymel www.stjameswildcats.com October 22,
2009 PORT ALLEN, LA -- The St. James Wildcats could not ask
for a better first half. That was, until
5 seconds left to go before halftime.
From there, the little, but important, things that hampered St. James
through the first 5 weeks of the season returned to haunt the Wildcats one
more time. St. James traveled to take on the Port Allen Pelicans in
a Week-8 battle that St. James was looking to make it 3-in-a-row in district
play. The 'Cats couldn't quite seal this one but will still
play for at least a share of the District Championship next week. Similar to the second half of last week, ball control
was the story for St. James in the first half this week. The St. James defense first came up with a fumble
recovery at their own 20-yard line. The offense answered with a 14-play drive
spanning 80 yards. Wildcat Lester Verret drove it in on a 6-yard run to cap the drive. The extra point would be blocked making the
score 6-0 at the 10:18 mark in the first quarter. St. James successfully converted 2 fourth downs on the
drive, but a little but important thing, the extra point was blocked. That would prove to have an impact later
on. Later in the second half, the Wildcats came back with
another time-consuming drive. St.
James marched 59 yards in 15 plays before Roman Broden
found the corner of the end zone on a sweep play with just 50 seconds left
before halftime. Jaleel
Steib kicked the extra point to make it a 13-0
game. The Wildcats were hoping to take that 13-0 lead into
half, but slacking off just a little was all Port Allen
needed. The Pelicans would pick
up a very significant touchdown with just 5 seconds left in the half on a
47-yard run. The extra point was good
cutting the St. James lead to 13-7. The Pelican score was crucial as it deflated the
momentum St. James had up to that point. Making plays when the other team has the momentum is
something St. James has struggled with this year. A long 60 yard run
down to the 2 yard line set up Port Allen's go-ahead score. The Pelicans punched it in from 2 yards out
and make the all-important extra point to take a 14-13 lead with 4:53 left in
the fourth quarter. St. James actually got the ball back with as many as 4
possessions but could not get the score they wanted so badly. With Port Allen taking over on downs at the St. James 30-yard
line with just 1:36 left in the game and a 1-point lead, the St. James
coaches decided to evoke the "Mike Holmgren Super Bowl 32"
philosophy and let the opponent score by design in order to get the ball
back. It worked as Port Allen practically jogged into the end
zone uncontested by any Wildcat defenders.
Then Port Allen missed the extra point, which meant only a 20-13 lead
and having to kick the ball back to St. James with over a minute left on the
clock. St. James was able to drive the ball down to the Pelican
30-yard line before ultimately running out of time. Final score: Port Allen 20, St.
James 14. The Wildcats will lick their wounds and return home next
week to wrap up district play against the Plaquemine Green Devils. A victory would clinch at least a share of
the District Championship. NOTABLES Even without the automatic district champion birth into
the playoffs, it is somewhat likely that St. James would still qualify for
the playoffs with wins in their last two games based off of their power
rating. The entire non-district
schedule is winning many games and adding to the power rating for St. James. Bottom line: beat Plaquemine. Once again, sophomores, with the exception of Steib's
extra point, made all Wildcat points. |
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