AHSAA 3RD ROUND: St. James routs Thomasville to advance to 3A semis
Thomasville running back Jacori Landrum grabbed low by St. James’ Tucker Williams and high by Jake Streeton. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Both Thomasville and St. James were up to the task of stopping each other’s ground game in the first half of Friday’s 3A quarterfinal matchup at Carlisle Field.
But the Trojans had an added dimension and once quarterback KJ Jackson and receivers Ethan Beard and Ziggy Holloway started clicking, St. James was on its way to a record-making night with a 40-15 rout of the Tigers.
Jackson completed 6 of 14 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns, with Beard pulling in three catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns and Holloway grabbing two passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns to offset a sluggish running game for much of the night.
St. James (11-2) advanced to the playoff semifinals for the first time in school history and will travel to Mobile next week to play Mobile Christian, with the winner advancing to the Super 7 at Jordan-Hare Stadium the following week.
“I’m very, very proud for the kids, proud for our school,” said Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Perry. “First time in school history. I don’t care who we play, where we play, as long as we’re playing.”
Making a deep run in the playoffs has its benefits and the Trojans’ history-making season will be one to remember for years to come. Among the accomplishments:
• The win gave the senior class 38 wins, tied with the 2019 team for the most in school history.
• The win was the 11th of the season, tying the 1985 team for the most in school history.
• Beard’s two touchdown receptions gives him 13 in 2022, tying the single-season mark set by Chris Roberts in 2003. His 900 yards this season are 116 shy of Roberts’ record 1,016 yards in 2003.
• Holloway’s two touchdown receptions gives him 13 in 2022, tying the single-season mark held by Roberts and Beard.
• Jackson’s four touchdown passes give him 36 in 2022, a school record, and 81 in his career, another school record.
• Jackson passed for 223 yards on Friday, giving him 2,382 this season, breaking the single-season mark of 2,335 yards set by Brett Gantt in 2003. Jackson’s career mark of 5,695 yards is already a school record.
• Tailback Cosner Harrison rushed for 117 yards (and two third-quarter touchdowns), making him only the second back in school history to go over the 5,000-yard mark in a career and leaving him just 60 yards shy of the school record of 5,084 yards set by Tony Amerson in 2018.
All of those records seemed out of reach for the Trojans in the early moments of the game, when running the ball was a challenge and dropped passes kept the game close.
“We kind of misfired a little bit in the first half,” Perry said. “I thought Coach (Neal) Posey made some great halftime adjustments. They were slanting to our strength. Neal came back and ran everything back (to their) weak (side) against the grain and we were able to get some seams inside. And of course we connected on some real long passes.
“I thought our defense played lights out all night.”
The Trojans took a quick 7-0 lead on a 15-yard pass from Jackson to Holloway following a blocked punt, but Thomasville grabbed an 8-7 lead midway through the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Justin McCreary and a conversion run by Jacoby Holt to cap a 22-yard drive.
St. James took the lead for good on the next offensive play from scrimmage as Jackson hit a streaking Beard down the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown and a 13-8 lead.
The key play to the game would come late in the first half when the Trojans used their timeouts on defense to get the ball back from the Tigers. A 29-yard punt return by Beard, followed by a quick pass to Beard for 14 yards, put the Trojans on the Thomasville 27 with a little less than two minutes remaining.
A pair of penalties and three incomplete passes left the Trojans facing fourth and 24 from the Thomasville 41, but St. James was undeterred, using a 41-yard strike over the middle from Jackson to Beard for a 20-8 halftime lead.
“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves,” Jackson said, “and we know we’ve got real good athletes like Ethan, who can run and go make a play whenever we want to.”
In addition to the long throws to Beard, there was also a 87-yard bomb to Holloway early in the fourth quarter that gave the Trojans a 40-8 lead.
“I think we’re confident in our throwing game,” Beard said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the field, we can throw the ball. (On the fourth-down play) it was just running right past them and making a play with a great ball from KJ.”
The appearance by the Trojans in the quarterfinals marked only the third time St. James ever reached the third round. Now, for the first time, they’ll continue playing on the day after Thanksgiving in search of their first championship ring.
“It feels great,” Jackson said. “but I don’t think any of us want to stop there. We all know what we want. As Coach Perry would say, we want to get us a door knocker (ring). So we’re going to keep working. Work this Thanksgiving break, not eat too much and be ready on Friday.”
Standing in the way of a trip to the Super 7 is Mobile Christian, a team that forfeited four games earlier this season for the use of an ineligible player, creating a misleading 6-7 record.
“I’m confident we’ll go out there and play our game and do what we need to get it done to get that win,” Beard said. “I’m glad that we’re the first one to get it done” in the quarterfinals.