For the second consecutive week, the St. Clair County Saints lit up the scoreboard for 49 points and are now 2-0 on the season after defeating the Springville Tigers 49-28 last week. It was the first region contest for both teams.

After trading punts to start the game, the Saints got the first break as Sequoah Humes returned a Trevor Sharpe punt 30 yards to the Tiger 27-yard line. Nine plays later, St. Clair was on the scoreboard on a 4-yard touchdown run by Humes. The PAT by Coy Graham was good to make the score 7-0 a little over halfway through the first quarter. The key play in the drive was a 13-yard scamper by quarterback Tez Goldsby on a fourth down and 10 situation.

Springville was forced to punt again and two plays later, Goldsby outran the Tiger defense to the end zone on a 70-yard touchdown run. Graham’s extra point was good to make it 14-0 with 2:35 left in the opening stanza.

Springville’s offense was still trying to get on track as its next two possessions resulted in two more punts. Four possessions, four punts and no first downs.

Midway of the second quarter, SCCHS drove 60 yards in eight plays with the touchdown coming on a 10-yard run by Humes. Graham, who was a perfect 7-for-7 with extra points on the night, made it 21-0 with 5:02 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers made their initial first down of the game with 4:28 left before halftime on a 12-yard run by Demarcus Tremble. The Tigers continued to move the ball through the air driving 82 yards in 13 plays. The touchdown came on a 3-yard run by Tremble with 51 seconds remaining before halftime. The key play in the drive was a 30-yard pass from quarterback Brandon Gilliland to Tremble to put the ball inside the Saint 10-yard line. The PAT by Charlie Mueler was no good and the score was 21-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Humes returned it 60 yards to the Tiger 25 as they looked to pad its lead. But a Goldsby pass near the end zone was picked off by Jacob Gibson who returned the ball to the Saint 45. A 20-yard pass from Gilliland to Gibson moved the ball to the 25 but that was as close as the Tigers could get as time expired in the first half.

It did not take the Tigers long to electrify the Springville fans as Gibson returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was good as Gilliland found EJ Woody in the end zone to make it 21-14.

Although the next series for the Saints saw them score, it proved to be costly. SCCHS drove 65 yards in 6 plays and the touchdown came on a 33-yard keeper by Goldsby. Because he dove and did a flip into the end zone as he scored, the referee threw the flag for unsportsmanlike conduct against Goldsby. It was Goldsby’s second unsportsmanlike penalty of the game and he was ejected from the game. The PAT by Graham was no good and the score was 27-14.

“There is no place for these personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct calls,” SCCHS head football coach Charlie Boren said. “I’m disappointed in that and I hope Tez learns from it.”

After forcing Springville to punt, junior quarterback Daniel Fortner stepped in to replace Goldsby.

“Daniel is a very good quarterback,” Boren said. “He can run the football, pass the football and the main thing is he can run our offense.”

Three running plays by Humes gained only 6 yards and the Saints were forced to punt.

The Tigers then marched 62 yards in 9 plays, mainly behind the arm of Gilliland, who finished the game 28-for-51 passing and 305 yards. The key play in the drive was a 36-yard reception by Zachary Mayo down to the Saint 1-yard line. On the very next play, Tremble scored and with the PAT by Mueler, the score was 27-21 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.

The Saints turned to Humes to carry the load offensively and he did not disappoint. St. Clair marched 74 yards in five plays with Humes gaining 45 of the yards, 42 on one play to get the ball down to the 3-yard line and he scored on the next play. Humes also added the two-point conversion to make it 35-21 headed into the fourth quarter.

Springville was forced to punt on its next possession. The punt was blocked by Darius Crump who also scooped up the ball and raced 38 yards for a touchdown with 10:46 left in the game. Graham added the PAT to make it 42-21.

Springville drove 75 yards the next time they had the ball and scored when Gilliland found Woody in the end zone for a 16-yard pass. The PAT by Mueler was good to make it 42-28 halfway through the fourth quarter.

The next time Springville had the ball, they turned it over on downs and St. Clair took over at the Tiger 18. Three plays later, Markett Clark scored from 10 yards out with just over 2 minutes left in the game. Graham’s PAT was good to make the final score 49-28.

The Saints rushed for 319 yards and leading the way was Humes with 128 yards on 18 carries. Goldsby picked up 125 yards rushing on 7 carries.

Tremble had 19 carries for the Tigers for 72 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 7 passes for 84 yards. Woody had 4 pass receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Springville head coach Keith Maple said he realizes he has a very young team with a lot of juniors and not many seniors.

“We fell behind 21-0 and we’re just trying to grow up,” Maple said. “We talked about that this summer about having the opportunity to grow up early but it looks as if its going to take us a couple of more weeks. But we’re getting there. I thought we played better tonight. It was a great game and great rivalry game.”

Boren said his team got up big at 21-0 but then lost some of their composure.

“All in all, I thought we did some good things,” Boren said. “I think we learned some things about ourselves tonight, some good and some bad. The offensive line put the offense on their shoulders there in the second half when we put ourselves in a hole. We knew coming in that Springville had a very good explosive football team with a great running back, great quarterback and great receivers. You know you are not going to stop them and shut them down. You just have to contain them and I felt we did a decent job of doing that.”

Boren said he was pleased with the season thus far and looking to go 3-0 to start the season for the first time in awhile.

They hit the road for the first time tomorrow night as they travel to Locust Fork to take on the 0-2 Hornets.

Springville is back home to host Oneonta, a team that is 2-0.

Contact Gary Hanner at ghanner@thestclairtimes.com.