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Saturday
November 04, 2006
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| 11/1/2006 4:29:00 PM |
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Saints draw McLaurin after defeating
St. Joseph
By JOSH
NEAVES
Sports Editor
Mathematically
eliminated from the playoffs before Friday night's game ever
started, the St. Joseph Bruins had nothing to lose as they
squared off against Region 6-2A champion St. Andrew's.
The Bruins had tasted victory last year on the Saints'
homefield but this year it was St. Andrew's who would deal out
the losses.
The Saints set the tone early as their
defense held the Bruins for a three and out on St. Joseph's
first drive. Conway Craig quickly put the Saints on top once
he got the ball. The senior sprinted 38-yards on an option
keeper to the end-zone to put St. Andrew's up 7-0 after a
successful extra point and the Saints never looked
back.
Bradford Blackmon picked up 16 of his 175-yards
on a touchdown run in the second quarter to push the Saints
lead to 14-0. Craig connected with Lee Smith before the close
of the first half on a 29-yard touchdown to further expand the
Saints lead to 21-0 at halftime.
It was more of the
same in the third quarter as Blackmon broke free on a 75-yard
touchdown run and Craig scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak
to give the Saints a 35-0 advantage at the end of the third.
St. Joseph saw their only breath of life come in the
fourth quarter as Terrance Bailey found the end-zone on a
1-yard run to pull the score to 35-7 at the game's end.
"I thought we played a good ball game," said St.
Andrew's head coach David Bradberry. "Our defense did a good
job all night long and we moved the ball around some
offense."
Blackmon finished the game with 175-yards
rushing while Craig collected 110, Craig also completed five
of his eight pass attempts for 72-yards and a touchdown.
The win improves the Saints record to 9-1 at the end
of the regular season while St. Joseph ends the year at
5-5.
Bruins face McLaurin
After heavily
defeating their rival, St. Joseph, and finishing their regular
season with just one loss, to Taylorsville, the St. Andrew's
Saints will face the McLaurin Tigers in the first round of the
MHSAA 2A state playoffs.
The Tigers come into the
playoffs as the number four seed from Region 7-2A despite
finishing the season with a record of 2-8. McLaurin defeated
Pelahatchie and Loyd Star in the regular season while losing
to Richland, Florence, St. Andrew's, Wesson, Taylorsville, Bay
Springs, Heidelburg and Mize. McLaurin has been outscored
307-149 for the season. The Saints defeated McLaurin 30-6 on
September 8th both Conway Craig and Bradford Blackmon found
the end-zone for St. Andrew's. Despite the Tigers poor record
and the fact that the Saints have already beaten them once
this year, St. Andrew's head coach David Bradberry says his
team can't take McLaurin lightly.
"They are a totally
different team than they were back in September. Back then
they were mostly a running team, now they are spreading it
around, passing as well as running," said coach Bradberry. "If
we are smart enough we will look at who they lost to, their
schedule is brutal. The people in their district are
exceptional football teams."
Michael Young has been the
key cog in the Tigers offense this season. Young has passed
for seven touchdowns and ran for five more while also
returning a kick-off for a score. Young's best game came
against Pelahatchie where he passed for a trio of
touchdowns.
Sedrick Walker and Ben Lugo have been
Young's favorite receivers. Walker has caught four touchdowns
this season while Lugo has hauled in three.
"We are
going to be excited about the new season, we accomplished most
of our goals so far," said coach Bradberry. "We are relatively
healthy and we know that it is a one week deal from now
on."
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