BY RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

When St. James needed him the most, Luther Ambrose came up with his biggest game of the season.

The Wildcats tailback rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns on Friday night as host St. James advanced to9 the Class 2A state semifinals, defeating Donaldsonville in the quarterfinals, 40-21.

St. James (11-2) will host Calvary Baptist in the semifinals next week.

The final score belied how close the game was throughout. With the fourth quarter just underway, Donaldsonville (11-2) cut St. James’ lead to 27-21 after a Champlain Babin 10-yard touchdown run.

But Ambrose made the biggest play of the night on the Wildcats’ next possession, taking off for a 70-yard touchdown run to give St. James a 34-21 advantage.

“That just shows Luther’s competitive nature,” said St. James Coach Rick Gaille. “He had two fumbles, but he made it up with some big plays for us.”

With under a minute left, Marcus Dumas’ 1-yard touchdown run gave St. James its final 40-21 margin of victory.

“There were lots of ebbs and flows to this one,” said Gaille. “We made some fatal errors in the first half, and we couldn’t pull out ahead and create separation.”

St. James will now host Calvary Baptist in the state semifinals.

St. James’ DeMell Dumas had 79 yards rushing in the game.

St. James generated 542 yards of total offense, including 464 on the ground. But the Wildcats saw drives set back due to penalties. They failed to convert once inside the Donaldsonville 5 at the end of the half, and Donaldsonville returned a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter.

But St. James never trailed after taking an early 14-0 lead. First, Juarelle Narcisse scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to make it 7-0.

Ambrose provided his first big play of the night when he went 54 yards for a score in the second quarter to put St. James ahead 14-0.

Donaldsonville answered to make it 14-6, but a DeMell Dumas 22-yard run made it 20-7. Donaldsonville’s Corey Odom scored on a 68-yard fumble return before the half to make it 20-14.

Kenny Zenon’s 27-yard touchdown run in the third quarter again gave the Wildcats a two-touchdown cushion, 27-13.

“They moved the ball on us and had us on our heels” said Gaille. “They came in with a very good plan. We really had to be at our best to win, because they really tested us.”