St. James earns crucial win in playoff race
By TIM GAYLE
Thursday’s game between Dale County and St. James was crucial, with the winner going a long way toward sewing up home-field advantage in the first round of the 4A state playoffs a month from now.
And while it might not have had all the fireworks of Alabama Christian’s overtime win over St. James two weeks earlier on the same field, it certainly had some of the same offensive entertainment for the fans.
Dale County tailback Trashon Marshall and quarterback Ethan Teal teamed up for 353 yards and four touchdowns in a losing effort as the Trojans kept their foot on the pedal and pulled away for a 52-26 win over the Warriors at Carlisle Field.
“I don’t know that we ever adjusted to it,” St. James coach Jimmy Perry said. “They did what they do and they do it very well. It really stresses your linebackers and your defensive line. I thought our back end (secondary) played well.”
The win allowed St. James (5-2) to hold on to second place in 4A Region 2 with a 4-1 record, giving them a game lead over Dale County (5-3 and 3-2 in region play) and Straughn (5-3, 3-2) with region games remaining against Ashford (1-6, 0-5) and Geneva (4-3, 2-1 heading into a Friday game with ACA) while owning tiebreakers over both Dale County and Straughn based on head-to-head competition.
That could prove important in avoiding a first-round playoff meeting with the top two teams in Region 3, American Christian and Bibb County.
But while Marshall was effective and Teal was elusive, the Warriors couldn’t match the offensive firepower of the Trojans, which got 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries from tailback Cosner Harrison, who also threw a touchdown pass, and three touchdown passes from freshman KJ Jackson, who completed 7 of 10 passes for 169 yards to keep the Warriors in the rear-view mirror.
“I was proud of our offense,” Perry said. “Other than (an early punt), we started staying on blocks, the backs ran hard, the quarterback threw the ball well. It was a good night. What they do is very hard to stop. (Dale County coach) Don Moore and his staff do a great job. They’re very young, but they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with down the road.”
All in all, the two teams combined for 34 first downs, 633 rushing yards and 867 total yards. It was the passing game that provided the difference as Jackson connected with Clayton Craft on a 31-yard touchdown pass for the game’s first points, then hit Craft again with a 22-yard scoring toss after the two teams exchanged a pair of touchdowns.
In a wild second quarter that featured five touchdowns and a field goal, Teal ran 24 yards to tie the game, Harrison ran 47 yards to put the Trojans back in front, then provided a little breathing room with his halfback pass to Zac Russell for 45 yards and a touchdown for a 21-7 lead.
After Marshall ran 38 yards for a touchdown, Jackson threw his second touchdown pass to Craft and moved the Trojans 44 yards in the final 39 seconds for a 36-yard field goal by Holt Harrison and a 31-13 halftime lead.
Teal, who had 70 rushing yards in the first half on 11 carries, finished with 180 yards on 20 carries. Marshall, who had 89 yards on 10 carries in the first half, finished with 173 yards on 20 carries.
Harrison had 130 yards on 12 carries in the first half, adding almost the same numbers in the final 24 minutes to finish with 240 yards on 23 carries.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter before Jackson’s 4-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown late in the third quarter and his 62-yard bomb to Ethan Beard for the Trojans’ final touchdown on the fourth play of the fourth quarter finally finished off the Warriors.