MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / September 13, 1999

ST. JAMES – Alvin Bartholomew’s 27-yard field goal with 3:51 left cappedan 18-point second half comeback for St. James as the Wildcats defeatedEast St. John, 24-23, Friday night.St. James evened its record at 1-1 while East St. John dropped to 0-2 onthe season. St. James has now won the last two games in the series andleads it overall, 6-3.

Corey Webster led the comeback, passing for 184 yards and three touchdowns on 10 completions in 19 attempts. Leslie Aubert carried 15times for 144 yards. Davin Dennis caught five passes for 70 yards.Chuckie Burl carried 21 times for East St. John for 121 yards. Floyd Smithcompleted 5 of 8 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game with an injury early in the third quarter.

St. James appeared to squander its last chance to win after driving fromits 33 to the East St. John 8 late in the game and trailing 23-21. Onsecond-and-nine from the 36, Travell Smith swept right and went down the sidelines for 34 yards to the East St. John 30. Montrell Steib thenwent for 5 and Aubert gained 8 to the 17. Aubert then went up the middlefor 9 yards but fumbled with East St. John recovering at the 8 with 5:51left.

But three plays later on third-and-3 from the 15, Burl fumbled a pitch and Cedric Vaughn recovered for St. James at the 11-yard line. Three playsnetted a yard and after an injury timeout, Bartholomew was called in to attempt the 27-yard field goal. Bartholomew raised his hands as soon ashe hit it as the ball flew through the uprights, giving the Wildcats a 24-23 lead with 3:51 left.

East St. John took over at its 18 after a holding call negated a 41-yardkickoff return by Terron Charles. On the first play, Jarrod Nabor threwdeep down the left sidelines for Roydell Williams. Vaughn jumped up forthe ball, tipped it and intercepted it while falling down at the 43-yard line.

On fourth-and-1 from the 34 on the ensuing possession, Byron Keller bulled for two yards for the first down. After East St. John used its finaltimeout with a minute to play, Webster kept the ball on a sweep around the right side for four yards on fourth-and-2 at the 24. Webster thenkneeled down to run out the clock.

East St. John had taken a 23-7 lead with 9:01 left in the third quarter on a24-yard touchdown run by Charles. St. James got right back in the ballgame on its next possession. Taking over at the 27, Webster found Auberton a short toss for a 24-yard gain to the East St. John 44. Two plays laterfrom the 41, Webster faked a handoff, rolled right and found Dennis at the 15. Dennis tip-toed down the sidelines for the score. Webster then rolledright and dove into the corner of the end zone for the conversion, cutting the deficit to 23-15 at the 7:24 mark of the third quarter.

St. James came even closer on its next possession. On the first play,Aubert took a draw, broke to the left and went down the sidelines before being brought down by Mervin Williams after a 63-yard gain to the East St.

John 9. Two plays later from the 8, Webster found Bartholomew wide openin the end zone for the score. The try for two failed, leaving the score at23-21 with 4:26 left in the third.

East St. John got its offense going after stopping St. James at the 15-yardline late in the first quarter. Burl went up the middle for 13 yards on firstdown and Darwin Pittman followed with an 8-yard gain on a reverse.

Smith snuck up the middle for the first down to the 37.

On the next play, Smith threw over the middle with Charles making a juggling catch for 25 yards to the St. James 34. A pass interference callon third-and-nine gave the Wildcats a first down at the 23. After a 4-yarddraw by Burl, Smith found Williams in the left side of the end zone for the 19-yard score. Bill Hogan hit the extra point, giving the Wildcats a 7-0lead with 15 seconds left in the opening quarter.

A 11-yard sack by Kentrell Robertson helped stop St. James’ next drivewith East St. John taking over at its 39. After a 15-yard illegalparticipation pushed the Wildcats back to the 24, Smith found Williams on the left side. Williams spun away from his defender and went down thesidelines before being taken down at the St. James 47. Gains of 8 by Burland 9 by Smith up the middle gave East St. John a first down at the 30. After a 15-yard pass to Williams slanting in, Burl took it to the 2 on a draw. But two plays later, Atari Raymond hit Smith in the backfield andBartholomew wrapped him up for a 10-yard loss. Hogan came on andknocked in a 28-yard field goal, extending the lead to 10-0 with 6:56 remaining in the half.

St. James answered on its next drive. A 15-yard pass to Bartholomew on ascreen gave the Wildcats a first down at the 46. Three plays later after aholding call, Webster threw downfield for Travell Stein. Stein pulled awayfrom his defender at the 20 to catch the ball and took it in to complete the 64-yard play. Bartholomew added the extra point, making it 10-7 with3:43 left.

East St. John got a break after its next possession as Chris Bush’s puntwas downed at the East St. John 3-yard line. On the second play, MontrellSteib fumbled the handoff with Mervin Williams recovering and returning it to the 1. Branden August took it off the left side for the score on thefirst play after the turnover. The snap on the point after was high, leavingthe score 16-7 with 1:23 left.

East St. John went 87 yards in seven plays on its opening possession ofthe second half to make it 23-7. On third-and-1 from the 22, Burl sweptaround the left side and took off down the left sidelines for 43 yards to the St. James 35. After Tremaine Moore picked up a first down to the 24,Charles swept right on a reverse, split two defenders at the 10 and scored. Hogan’s extra point made it 23-7 with 9:01 left.It would be a costly drive for East St. John as Smith was injured on a 8-yard scramble on the second play of the game and did not return.

For the second straight week, St. James could not punch it in on twodrives into East St. John territory in the first quarter. On the firstpossession of the game, the Wildcats drove to the East St. John 28 on theheels of a 15-yard option keeper by Webster and a 10-yard completion to Dennis on the right side. But the East St. John defense then held andWebster was held to a 6-yard scramble on fourth-and-9 at the 30.

The St. James defense held and the Wildcats took over at the East St. John47-yard line after a 30-yard punt return by Vaughn. Runs of 9 and 10 yardsby Leslie Aubert gave the Wildcats a first down at the 15-yard line. Againthe East St. John defense stepped up as Tie Reese twice chased downTravell Steib for no gain. On fourth-and-10, Webster threw low toBartholomew in the end zone.

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