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ST. JAMES FOOTBALL 2010 |
(JAMBOREE) at Hahnville |
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Wildcats find highs and lows in 14-0 loss at Jamboree
By Kenny
Hymel www.stjameswildcats.com August 26,
2010 BOUTTE, LA -- The Wildcats of St.
James made their annual trip to St. Charles Parish to participate in the Ed
Reed Jamboree. This year's game took
place at Hahnville High School and was the second of two Jamboree games for
the night. The Lutcher Bulldogs
defeated the Destrehan Wildcats 20-7 in the first game. Back in 2004, the St. James Wildcats lost its
regular-season finale to the Hahnville Tigers 14-0. Despite that loss, all associated with the
Wildcats left that game in high spirits.
This year of 2010, St. James falls to Hahnville by the same score of 14-0,
this time in a Jamboree. However, the
tone was a little more disappointing than it was back in 2004; mainly due to
the struggles of the offense. On the other hand, the St. James defense played
stout. Although giving up yardage, the
Wildcat defense was able to give Hahnville's offense many fits. St. James was solid on tackling and
hitting, allowing only one touchdown, and then only after Hahnville was aided
by a short field. The Jamboree followed the traditional format of two
15-minute "halves" with a halftime in between. Normal clock operation, along with all
special teams, was in play just as if it were a
regular game. St. James provided the game's first stellar play, but
Hahnville quickly answered with one of their own. St. James began on defense and during the drive,
Hahnville attempted a deep pass. Wildcat
cornerback Roman Broden covered the intended receiver
almost to perfection. With the ball in
the air and his back turned, Broden performed a
spin move in the air and timed his jump perfectly to snatch the football out
of the air to come down with the interception. Wildcat glory would be short lived as Hahnville
responded a few plays later with an interception of their own. On this one, Hahnville was able to return
the interception for a touchdown. With
9:56 left in the first half and a successful extra point, Hahnville took a
7-0 lead. Later in the first half, St. James would miss out on an
even bigger opportunity. Wildcat Devonte Jackson blocked a Hahnville punt and set up the
Wildcats with nice field position inside the red zone. The St. James offense however, moved the
ball backwards for the drive and came out with nothing. Hahnville had the football inside their own territory
with as many as 3 minutes left in the half, but somehow the St. James defense
forced Hahnville into enough plays to burn out the clock without reaching the
end zone. In the second half, St. James' offense played a lot like
they did to start off last week's scrimmage against Capitol -- tense and
shaky. Hahnville noticed and took
advantaged, forcing the Wildcats to a quick three-and-out to start the half. Hahnville took over with great field position at the St.
James 38-yard-line. The St. James
defense played even tougher, and it was now Hahnville who was marching their
offense in the wrong direction. St.
James had Hahnville down to a 4th-and-19; however, a late hit out-of-bounds
made it a 4th-and-4 for Hahnville. With
a much more-manageable situation, Hahnville picked up the first down by a
yard and then finished off the drive by scoring on a 6-yard run. The extra point was good to make it 14-0
with 9:16 left in the game. St. James still managed to muster up another big play
later when a Wildcat defender laid a hit on the Hahnville punt returning
causing a fumble. The Wildcats recovered
the ball around the 50-yard-line with about 5 minutes left in the game but
still couldn't move the football. The game ended with Hahnville taking a 14-0 victory. Coach Gaille told his team
after the game that they did show some signs of wanting to compete but there
is obviously much work to do on offense.
"There were too many times where we just stood there let them
push us around," Gaille said. "Just because Hahnville was bigger
than you, just standing there and doing nothing isn't going to make them hit
you any softer." Although the Wildcat defense played well, defensive
coordinator Shane Kliebert said he seen many areas
where they can improve on defense and he believes all the players have to
ability to get there through self-improvement. Even against a very good Hahnville football team, most
coaches and even players agree that all of the problems they faced and
mistakes made were self-inflicted and all are correctable. St. James will now regroup in preparation for the
regular-season opener this Friday night (September 3) at West St. John. |
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