Saint James prevails in football season opener over St. John's Catholic Prep

ST. JAMES — If every Saint James football game this season is like Saturday's opener, Saints coach John Root may need heart medication.

Jayden Yates threw two touchdown passes in the final 13 minutes, and Saint James overcame a 400-plus-yard, five-touchdown passing game by Demarco Valladares to defeat St. John's Catholic Prep 41-38 at Turner Field in a contest that took four hours to complete, including a long injury stoppage for a Vikings player.

"Jayden's another coach on the field. Jayden has complete control of the offense," Root said. "It's a luxury to have, and I'm happy that he's on our team and not the other team.

"It was a long afternoon. Our team battled. Their team battled. Ultimately, we made a couple more plays than they did. I'm just happy we got the win."

Yates' 13-yard scoring pass in the left flat to younger brother Khari Yates with 4:48 left held up as the winning points after Saint James' defense — aided by multiple penalties against the Vikings — got a stop in the final minutes.

Washington County high school sports: Everything you need to know about 2024 fall sports

Yates' first scoring pass went deep over the middle to a wide-open Calvin Moss on a blown coverage for 29 yards in the final minute of the third quarter, giving the Saints a 34-30 lead.

Valladares threw three 80-yard touchdown passes in the first half, two of them on bombs to 6-foot-6, 215-pound wide receiver Kennedy Uzoma, the other a swing pass that Kash Gedeon broke up the sideline to the house.

Uzoma finished with three TD grabs, including a 32-yarder in the fourth quarter that put the Vikings ahead 38-34. Ethan Jackson caught a 34-yard score in the third quarter for St. John's.

"No. 4 (Uzoma) for their team, that kid's legit, and our kids were tired. We had a hunch of kids cramping," Root said. "We talked to our kids that it's about making the next play, and they made the next play. I'm super proud of them, they shut them down there at the end and we got the 'W.'"

Sam Stonebraker rushed for touchdowns of 7 and 2 yards in the first quarter as Saint James took an early 12-2 lead.

William Taffe picked off two passes for the Saints, returning one almost to the goal line midway through the second quarter. Taffe fumbled it into the end zone, but Aiden Carter fell on it for a touchdown and a 21-8 lead.

Jorge Nicolas kicked three field goals, going for 25, 29 and 39 yards, and regularly boomed kickoffs into the end zone for the Saints. Liam Hall and Ethan Jackson each had an interception and Moss added a fumble recovery.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Saint James prevails in football season opener over St. John's Catholic Prep