CLASS 4A BATTLE: Tallassee clinches playoff berth with win over St. James

St. James running back Grant Phillips looks for running room against the Tallassee defense in the Tigers’ win on Friday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

With two struggling offenses battling for a playoff berth on Friday night at Carlisle Field, the team that scored first would have a huge advantage over its opponent.

“I really did feel that way,” St. James coach Larry Ware said. “That’s why I told the captains we wanted the ball first. And they chose the ball (and won). We had our chances, though.”

Tallassee won the toss and elected to receive, struggling through a scoreless first quarter without any rhythm but finally turning in the big play early in the second quarter to defeat the Trojans 13-7 and give the Tigers their fourth playoff berth in the last five years.

“You can’t win it if you ain’t in it,” Tallassee coach L.A. O’Neal said. “We’re five points and two minutes away from being number two in the region so it’s just a testament (to the players). They could have folded up and not showed up, But the kids showed up every week, let the JV (junior varsity) go to the house, got rid of a couple of distractions and they’ve been practicing really, really well.”

St. James, meanwhile, will end the 2025 season at home next week against Munford, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. The Trojans dropped to 2-4 in region play, suffering as many region losses this year as the previous nine years combined.

Tallassee quarterback Trent Morris got the Tigers rolling, running for 29 yards on back-to-back plays and then finding Hamp Love open over the middle for a quick pass that turned into a 55-yard sprint to the end zone and a 7-0 lead 21 seconds into the second quarter.

“We knew if we got out on them, we had to keep rolling,” Morris said. “I think when we scored first, it gave us a confidence boost.”

Back came the Trojans with a 15-play, eight-minute drive that seemed destined to put points on the scoreboard. But after reaching the Tallassee 5-yard line on second down, everything unraveled for St. James as Miles Zukowski fumbled and left the game with an injury. Teammate Ford Bass recovered the fumble, but the Trojans were penalized for holding, killing the drive. Dylan Hines came on to attempt a 32-yard field goal but the kick drifted left and the Trojans came away empty.

“That was the summation of our season,” Ware said. “It’s been going like that all season. But we had a chance to get it done. We just didn’t get it done.”

The chances were few after the 15-play drive. The Trojans’ next four possessions, stretching into the fourth quarter, managed one first down and six total yards. Meanwhile, the holding penalty was one of nine assessed against the Trojans for 60 yards, along with a fumble lost on the first possession of the fourth quarter, squandering another opportunity.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Ware said. “We made a reference to that all week. We cannot have mental mistakes and that’s what they were.”

Tallassee managed just 71 yards on the ground as both teams loaded the line of scrimmage to shut down the run. The Tigers had an alternative, however, as Morris completed 11 of 16 passes for 241 yards and a pair of touchdowns, throwing his second touchdown pass to a crossing Jaiden Gordon for 20 yards and an insurmountable 13-0 lead with 6:25 remaining in the third quarter.

“They didn’t respect the pass,” Morris said, “so we made them respect it.”

St. James would finally score with 74 seconds remaining as Mason Craig connected with Grant Phillips on a 36-yard pass, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Tigers, assuring Tallassee of a berth in the 4A state playoffs in three weeks.

“It feels amazing,” Morris said. “Second year in a row, I’m just happy to be there. Hopefully we can make a long run like last year and win it all.”

It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but O’Neal wasn’t complaining.

“We said all week that 14 points was going to win the ballgame, based off the way they play,” O’Neal said. “They hold the ball a lot with the wing-T (offense and) control the clock. So we felt like if we could jump up 14 and make them have to do something different, we would have a really good shot at the game.”

St. James (2-7) is assured of its first losing season since 2013 and its fewest wins since going 1-9 in 2008.

Tallassee (4-4) will travel to Talladega next week and to Holtville the following week to close out the regular season, then go on the road for the first round of the 4A state playoffs on Nov. 7.