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ST. JAMES FOOTBALL 2009 |
(Week-9) vs Plaquemine |
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Big second half lifts Wildcats by Green Devils 33-13
By
Kenny Hymel www.stjameswildcats.com October 30,
2009 ST. JAMES, LA -- With the game tied 13-13 at halftime, St. James found themselves in a familiar position
-- attacked by their own adversity.
Frustrations were high among players, coaches, and fans. It was a tough situation; however, the
Wildcats finally said, "we had enough of this." St. James responded with their sharpest half of football
this season, outscoring the Plaquemine Green Devils 20-0 in the second half. The victory propels St. James to a guaranteed
share of the District Championship and an automatic ticket to the playoffs
comes with it. What a unique story these 2009
Wildcats are writing. It marked the first time all season that St. James was
able to win a game that included adversity.
It also marked the "healthiest" game since the Spring Game,
as many injured Wildcats are slowly working their way back into the lineup. For the 7th time in 9 games, St. James scored
first. Sophomore running back Larohn Cambre took a counter
untouched into the end zone from 14 yards out. Jaleel Steib kicked the extra point to give St. James a 7-0 lead
with 7:47 left in the first quarter. The St. James defense gave up a big pass play on a
fourth-and-long and the Green Devils would take advantage, as they would
later punch it in on a 1-yard dive play for the score. The extra point was good tying the game at
7-7 with 1:29 left in the first quarter. The adversity then began kicking in for St. James as
Plaquemine took the lead on a 49-yard scoring run. The extra point was no good, giving the
Green Devils a 13-7 lead with 10:11 left in the first half. Team leader Jaleel Steib would retie the game when he powered his way in on
a 20-yard run. A mishap on the extra
point led to the game allowed the game to remain tied at 13-13 with 8:11 left
in the half. Despite the game being tied at
13 at halftime, one could swear that St. James was losing by 14 points. Not many people felt like St. James could
win this game. St. James began to ease off the pressure by opening up
the second half on a scoring drive spanning 5:45. Quarterback Antoine Landry sealed the drive
by scoring on a quarterback-sneak. The
extra point was blocked giving St. James a 19-13
lead. On the ensuing drive, Plaquemine broke off a long run
that looked like it was going to go the distance. However, Wildcat Hansel Armant
chased the running back down from behind.
That would be the first of 3 significant plays for St. James. The second significant play for St. James would come a
few plays later when defensive end John Shepard
stole the ball from a Green Devil ball carrier and returned it to
midfield. The Green Devils scoring
hopes were doomed. The third significant play for St. James would come later
on by the offense on a fourth down at the 17-yard line. Running back Larohn
Cambre took a pitch play outside and then passed
the ball to freshman Shaqueille Narcisse
who caught it in the end zone for the touchdown. St. James elected to go for 2 and successfully
converted it when sophomore Kenneth Armant punched
it in. St. James now led 27-13 with
10:05 left in the game. St. James then finished off the game playing like the
name on their jerseys. The Wildcats picked up one more score later on when
Kenneth Armant dodged and broke tackles in route to
a 32-yard scoring run. The extra point
was blocked again giving St. James a 33-13 lead that
would be the game's final score. St. James improves to 3-6 on the season, but that record
is now irrelevant. The only important
number for St. James right now is the power rating that will determine which
one of the 32 seeds St. James will enter the playoffs with.
St. James will return home next week for the
regular-season finale against the Karr Cougars who are 8-1 and promise to be
an excellent challenge to gear up St. James for the playoffs. St. James can also use a victory to improve
their position in the playoff bracket by improving their power rating. |
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