No blowout this time.

But the final result was the same.

Although Salem was a tougher out than in previous years, the St. James High School football squad was able to run its record against its Dent County rival to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in openers over the past five seasons by posting a 23-8 victory Friday, Aug. 28 at STJ Tiger Field.

In a battle of Tigers in front of a large, loud crowd from both schools, the individual and team statistics for both squads were rather pedestrian, reflecting the closeness of play. However, key turnovers and penalties proved particularly costly for Salem.

“We knew going in they would be better,” said St. James head coach Dusty Craft of Salem. “Salem only had six (offensive) plays in the third quarter, and that was big. We came out and established our run-game presence. We made a couple of adjustments at halftime on defense, and we capitalized on their turnovers as well.”

“Mistakes, both penalties and mental mistakes, were a little upsetting after working on that for so long (in the preseason),” said Salem head coach Neal Myers. “I think the more and more we work on ironing out those mistakes you’ll start seeing more success as we go.”

Each squad lost a fumble and Salem also threw an interception. However, Salem stopped itself several times with ill-timed penalties. A total of 18 penalties were whistled in the game - 10 for 85 yards against Salem.

St. James never trailed, taking the lead for good just four plays from scrimmage into the game, thanks in large part to a huge, game-opening kickoff return by junior Patrick Lonning.

Lonning opened St. James’ season by fielding a kickoff and sprinting 81 yards to the Salem 16 yardline. On a third-and-six situation, senior running back Gavyn King busted off 10 yards for a first down to the Salem two yardline. From there, King scored the season’s opening TD on a two-yard run at the 9:49 mark of the first period. Senior Preston Hash added the PAT. Hash would be lost for the rest of the game on the ensuing kickoff with a hamstring injury, forcing the squad to alter some kicking plans.

The rest of the half was a scoreless defensive struggle. After a Salem interception St. James had a strong scoring chance in the second period, driving from midfield to the Salem 12 yardline after a 13-yard pass from senior QB Owen Spurgeon to senior running back John Nicholson. However, a 15-yard personal foul penalty backed St. James up, and a fourth-down incomplete pass would eventually end the drive.

Salem received the second-half kickoff, but on the second play from scrimmage would fumble a pitch and it was recovered by St. James junior linebacker Jayce Mathenia at the Salem 34 yardline.

That would set up the game’s second touchdown, as St. James would march 34 yards on seven plays - including a first-down conversion by a King run on a fourth-and-two situation. King would score his second TD three plays later on a five-yard run at the 7:13 mark of the third period. Spurgeon was brought down short of the goal-line on a two-point conversion option-keeper attempt, leaving it 13-0.

A Salem miscue on a punt attempt increased the St. James advantage. After a three-and-out, Salem went into punt formation from its own 33 yardline. However, the ball sailed over the punter’s head, who backed up and kicked the ball out of the back of the endzone for the safety.

Following the ensuing free kick, St. James would slowly milk the game clock on a 66-yard, 17-play scoring drive.

That drive also produced four penalties between the two teams as well as a lengthy stoppage of play due to an inadvertent whistle stopped a play during a 14-yard Spurgeon first-down run. Salem protested the play, which was finally brought back to make the run a nine-yard gainer. However, a 19-yard pass from Spurgeon to junior wideout Aiden Cruz got St. James the first down anyway. Five plays later Spurgeon would score the touchdown on a one-yard scoring plunge at the 7:12 mark of the final period. Spurgeon hit Mathenia with a two-point conversion pass to make it 23-0.

Salem would get on the scoreboard with 2:44 left, converting an 11-play, 61-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by senior QB Sylis DuBois. DuBois then hit senior back Paxton Deason with a two-point conversion pass. Salem converted three 4th-down plays to keep the scoring drive alive.

St. James had 160 yards of total offense compared to 143 for Salem.

King ran for 50 yards on 11 attempts while Spurgeon rushed for 44 yards on 17 carries and hit on 2-of-4 passes for 32 yards. DuBois paced the Salem offense, rushing for 47 yards and completing 4-of-11 passes for 49 yards.

“We are a young group up front and I’m really happy with how much they improved during the game,” Craft said. “They’re only going to get better. And Owen’s leadership and ability to command the offense as quarterback was on display. And maybe the plays of the game were by Cruz, with that big first-down catch and the interception.”

Cuba Next

St. James will play a second-straight non-conference home game this week, hosting Crawford County neighbor Cuba. Kickoff at Tiger Field is set for 7 p.m.

The Cuba Wildcats opened the season with a 46-26 road victory at Linn last week. Cuba returns to the St. James schedule after being off in 2025. The last time the two teams played was in 2024, when St. James won 33-26 in district playoff action. St. James had beaten Cuba in their last three regular-season meetings, from 2021-23.

The Wildcats are coming off a 2-8 season in 2025.

This season the Cuba squad has been strengthened by a co-op football situation with Steelville High School.

“They are a team that has switched to single-wing on offense,” Craft said of Cuba. “They are big up front, and have some good offensive and defensive linemen.

“Their quarterback (senior Jesse Shireman) is good. And (senior running back/safety Ethan Noltkamper) is a guy they like to use a lot.”

St. James will be without two players for the game due to injuries last week. Hash is out and will be replaced as place-kicker by freshman Max Cohen. Sophomore Jaden Otto will be the Tiger punter. Also, Mathenia suffered a shoulder injury on his two-point conversion catch and will miss at least a week, according to Craft.

Lonning left the Salem game in the second half due to cramps, but Craft thinks he is fine for this week.