Saints' 35-7 victory avenges
'05 loss
by Martin
Kester
mkester@mcherald.com
If revenge is a dish
best served cold, the conditions Friday night at Bill Raphael Field were
perfect for St. Andrew's.
"(St. Joseph) came out last year and got us 31-6," said senior Bradford
Blackmon. "That's been on our minds since that loss.
"We've been talking about it all week, how we need to come out and
avenge that loss. I think we did a good job of it tonight."
The all-purpose back rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns as the
Saints wrapped up the regular season with a 35-7 win before an estimated
2,000.
"It's a big win," said St. Andrew's coach David Bradberry, whose team
improved to 9-1. "Our goal tonight was to finish the season undefeated in
district play.
"We came off a big win last week, and I thought our guys stayed
focused."
The Saints' 40-6 win over Amite County clinched the Region 6-2A title
and earns them Friday's opening round playoff game against McLaurin (2-8)
at Roger Stribling Field.
"We're familiar with them, and they're familiar with us," Bradberry
said of the Tigers, a team they beat 30-6 on Sept. 8. "We need a good week
of work, so we're hitting on all cylinders Friday night."
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The
Bruins' Terrance Bailey is met in the backfield by St. Andrew's Lee
Smith during the second quarter in Madison.
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The pistons were pumping
from the opening kick against the Bruins (5-5, 1-4). After forcing a quick
three-and-out, the Saints needed only four plays before Conway Craig took
an option around the corner for a 38-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The senior quarterback rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns and was
5-of-8 passing for 72 yards and a score.
"A better football team beat us," said St. Joseph coach Flip Godfrey.
"They did pretty much whatever they wanted to do. We didn't play as well
as we wanted to from top to bottom, head coach on down."
The Bruins were held to just 59 yards of total offense in the first
half, 28 of which came on a pass from junior Caleb Gray to senior Micah
Pellerin with less than a minute before halftime.
Blackmon scored from 16 yards out midway through the second quarter,
then broke a 75-yard run that was called back due to block in the back
penalty.
The drive resulted in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Craig to senior Lee
Smith, but the play wasn't forgotten.
"(Senior offensive lineman) Jake (Brannan) said the penalty was on
him," said Blackmon, "but he told me he was going to make up for it, and I
think he did."
On the first play of the third quarter, Blackmon took a pitch 75 yards
for the 99th touchdown of his illustrious career. He's three behind
Vardaman's Odie Armstrong (102) for fourth on the state's all-time list.
"They weren't doing anything fancy, and we just couldn't seem to get
them stopped," Godfrey said about trailing 21-0 at the half. "We just
tried to get enough people (to the point of attack) and talked about
tackling a little better.
"Of course, the first thing that happens is they break another one and
any chance we might have had kind of went out of the window there."
Senior Terrance Bailey rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries. He would
score a two-yard touchdown in the fourth, but his fumble late in the third
stalled the Bruins' best drive of the night.
For the first time since 1987, St. Joseph had consecutive non-losing
season, but that's not good enough for their first-year coach.
"It's certainly not what we wanted," said Godfrey in reflection. "We
wanted to be in the playoff hunt like everyone else. I'm sure we did some
good things in spots, but we have a lot of work to do.
"We'll regroup and get to work in the offseason, but this was certainly
not what we wanted."
The Saints ran out the clock in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a
juggling catch by freshman Michael Tauchar from sophomore Elliot Varney
that sparked the raucous sidelines.
"This is a huge win for us," said junior Oliver Galicki. "They
embarrassed us last year - I'll just say that flat out - so to come back
this year and beat them like this is exactly what we wanted."
