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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Jamestown proved once again they belong in the conversation with the best teams in Class AA football after holding St. Mary’s high-powered offense to just 17 points and 240 yards in a loss. The Saints stayed unbeaten by sneaking out of town with a 17-10 win.
The Jays got the ball back in the final seconds after St. Mary’s inexplicably tried to run another play, when three kneel downs would have sealed the game. Cole Gendreau and his back-up running back mishandled a handoff that was scooped up by Zach Petrik.
Jamestown got a long run from Jared Harr on a busted halfback pass followed by a hook-and-latter to move the ball to the 20-yard line with 1.3 seconds left. However, they would not get a snap off to spike the ball.
St. Mary’s held a 3-0 halftime lead with a field goal in the closing seconds that almost wasn’t. On the play before, Jeremy Williams nearly intercepted Gendreau on what was almost certainly a pick-six.
The Saints turned a Jamestown turnover on the first drive of the second half into seven points with a Gendreau scoring run from 10-yards away. Aaron Bredeson returned the ensuing kickoff 53-yards to set up the first points St. Mary’s had allowed all year. Harr plunged in from a yard out.
Gendreau hooked up with his favorite target, Luke Kambeitz, on a short touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Saints up 17-7.
The Jays had second-and-goal from the two-yard line on their next drive before a holding penalty and a sack sent them backwards. Connor Fuchs banged home a 34-yard field goal to make it 17-10.
St. Mary’s came in averaging 45 points per game on offense and had not allowed a single point to an opposing offense.
Jamestown (3-2) will head to Valley City next Friday night to renew their rivalry with the Hi-Liners. The two schools haven’t played since 2001 despite their proximity. The loss for the Jays puts the top two seeds in the playoffs out of reach barring the improbable. They are definitely in the driver seat to host a quarterfinal game on October 28th.