ST. JAMES –– The Houston Tigers are 0-2. They could easily be 2-0.
For the second straight week, HHS had a strong showing and outplayed its opponent in several important categories. But the Tigers again fell short in the column that matters most: wins and losses.
St. James scored 18 unanswered points in the second half Friday night and pulled away for a 36-18 victory.
Houston again had more total yards than its opponent. But like the season-opening 26-22 loss to Hollister, the numbers didn’t add up to a victory.
“Neither team has beaten us. We are beating ourselves,” HHS coach Billy O’Neil said. “What we’re doing is allowing the other teams to take advantage of our mistakes.”
The first game on St. James’ new turf field was back and fourth for 36 minutes. The Tigers pulled even at 6-all in the first quarter and 12-12 at the half. They also tied it at 18-18 midway through the third quarter and were marching toward another tie at 24-all when they fumbled on St. James’ 13-yard line on the final play of the third quarter.
Houston, which outgained St. James 403-314, remained within six points until a touchdown with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left in the game. The final score came as time expired when Garrett Ubben picked off a desperation pass and returned it 70 yards.
“The game looks like it was more out of control than it was,” O’Neil said. “If anybody was watching the game, they understand it was right down to the wire.”
Senior Scott Logan, who had a 59-yard touchdown run, led the Houston ground attack with 11 carries for 113 yards. Ty Wilkins added 102 rushing yards, 74 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
HHS received positive news over the weekend about Logan, who went down with a knee injury in the third quarter and was taken off the field on a stretcher. O’Neil said the medical staff’s initial concerns of a torn ACL were incorrect. Logan instead had a dislocated left kneecap and slight sprain of the LCL. He was a full participant at Monday’s no-contact practice and could potentially play Friday night at Salem.
“I want to be very careful with him,” O’Neil said. “I don’t want to lose him for the season because I was impatient to get him back into a game.”
The Houston defense, which had nine tackles for losses in the opener, had 10 against St. James. Kyle Wilson led the way with five tackles for losses and two sacks.
Houston held St. James (2-0) to 3.1 yards per carry on 46 attempts.
“Our defense has played well enough for us to win,” O’Neil said. “There were two touchdowns that the defense wasn’t responsible for.”
The first came on the opening kickoff, which St. James returned 74 yards to the HHS 10-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Brett Karnes scored from nine yards out. Just 45 seconds into the game, St. James led 6-0.
Houston pulled even –– the first of three times –– midway through the second quarter. On the first play following a punt, Wilkins gave the ball to Logan on a double handoff, and he sprinted 59 yards untouched into the end zone.
St. James responded with a 17-play drive that covered 67 yards and stayed alive on a pass interference call on fourth-and-12 from the Tigers’ 20. Two plays later, Dawson Lynch scored from five yards away.
With just 2:02 left in the half, Houston answered. The Tigers moved 75 yards on six plays and tied it 12-12 when Wilkins plowed into the end zone 25 seconds before halftime.
St. James pulled away on its first drive of the second half when Karnes hit Michael Phillips from 14 yards away. But Houston again had an answer.
After a nine-yard kickoff return, Wilkins snuck out of the backfield and behind the defense. Quarterback Nathan Poynter hit Wilkins in stride, and he broke a late tackle to score from 73 yards away and make it 18-all.
But Houston couldn’t sustain the pace.
After a 17-yard touchdown pass from Karnes to Noah Bartle, the Tigers drove to the St. James 13-yard line before losing a fumble on the final possession of the fourth quarter.
St. James scored on Dawson Lynch’s eight-yard run with 2:53 remaining to put the game away and added another touchdown on the interception return as time expired.
HHS had three turnovers –– two fumbles and one interception –– and 14 penalties for 119 yards in the defeat
“I told the kids I don’t think there is a team out there we can’t play with,” O’Neil said. “We’ve just got to quit beating ourselves.”
BOX SCORE
| Houston | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | – | 18 |
| St. James | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | – | 36 |
First Quarter
SJ – Karnes 9 run (kick failed), 11:15.
Second Quarter
HOU – ScLogan 59 run (kick failed), 8:34.
SJ – Lynch 5 run (run failed), 2:02.
HOU – Wilkins 9 run (run failed), 0:25.
Third Quarter
SJ – Phillips 14 pass from Karnes (kick failed), 8:05.
HOU – Wilkins 73 pass from Poynter (run failed), 7:46.
SJ – Bartle 17 pass from Karnes (run failed), 3:32.
Fourth Quarter
SJ – Lynch 8 run (pass failed), 2:53.
SJ – Ubben 70 interception return, 0:00.
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| HOU | SJ | |
| First downs | 14 | 19 |
| Total yards | 403 | 314 |
| Rushes-yards | 39-290 | 46-144 |
| Passing | 113 | 170 |
| Punt returns | 0 | 31 |
| Kickoff returns | 48 | 79 |
| Comp-att-int | 5-13-2 | 19-27-0 |
| Sacked-yards lost | 0-0 | 2-19 |
| Punts | 4-34.8 | 4-37.5 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 14-119 | 12-120 |
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Houston, ScLogan 11-113, Wilkins 12-102, SWelch 8-48, Knarr 2-19, Poynter 4-7, Cooper 1-4, Sawyer 1-3. St. James, Karnes 21-61, Lynch 7-46, Ubben 17-34, Money 1-3.
PASSING – Houston, Poynter 5-13-2 113. St. James, Karnes 19-26-0 170. Castrol 0-1-0 0.
RECEIVING – Houston, Wilkins 1-74, SWelch 2-23, Schock 1-14, ScLogan 1-2. St. James, Castro 5-48, Money 5-46, Phillips 5-37, Bartle 2-22, Ubben 2-17.
Week 2 scores
St. James 36, Houston 18
Cabool 31, Hollister 14
Mountain Grove 30, Cassville 19
Liberty 70, Caruthersville 7
Reeds Spring 21, Salem 20
Marionville 14, Willow Springs 8
Ava 28, Eldorado Springs 0
Strafford 52, Thayer 6
Week 3 games
Houston at Salem
Mountain Grove at Ava
Willow Springs at Cabool
Thayer at Liberty