By JOHN HOWARD

Staff Reporter

VACHERIE-Gary Davis led the way for the St. James Wildcats with 159 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to open 2-A district play against Riverside Friday night.

It seems as though Riverside has hit a bump in the road losing two straight games after winning their first four. This week’s loss came courtesy of St. James’ ground attack, gang tackling and pure speed.

&#8220We knew what we were up againstŠspeed. You practice hard; it’s tough to simulate. They’ve got speed that kills,” said Riverside Head Coach Mickey Roussel.

Spectators got a good look at St. James’ speed on a big-time run with three minutes left in the first half. Davis put on a clinic zooming 60 yards down the field for a touchdown run, shaking off a couple of would-be tacklers with a dazzling spin move that allowed him to reverse field and outrun the rest of the Rebel defense.

&#8220I ran all the way down the field to the sideline and I saw all my blockers coming across,” said Davis. &#8220Luther [Ambrose] threw a nice block. Then I cut of them [his blockers] and went across the other side of the field.”

Luther Ambrose did more than set blocks. He piled up 84 rushing yards on seven carries and a touchdown contributing to the Wildcats’ 368 total rushing yards. He also broke a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown, but the play was called back because of a block-in-the-back penalty.

St. James running back Kenny Zenon pounded his way to the 91-yard mark on 12 carries and one touchdown picking up additional yardage after initial contact on nearly every tackle.

Riverside’s main offensive weapon, Jarid Caesar was held to only 32 yards in the first half. However, he did manage to pick up 41 in the fourth quarter rushing for 75 yards on 19 carries and Riverside’s only touchdown on the night.

The speedy pursuit and gang tackling of St. James shut down Riverside’s offensive attack holding the Rebels to only 128 yards on the ground on 40 carries. And Jade Falgoust was held to 41 rushing yards on 15 touches and was 4-of-10 for 49 yards with one interception.

St. James quarterback Marcus Dumas was 4-of-8 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. All of his passes were over 10 yards.

This win marks the third straight for the Wildcats bringing them to (4-2) and (1-0) in district play. Wildcat Head Coach Rick Gaille emphasized fundamentals and execution to his team after the game.

&#8220If you do what you’re supposed to do, you are a very effective team,” said Gaille. &#8220I told you before the game, ‘The only thing that could beat us tonight was us.’”