When matched up evenly against an opponent very similar to yourself in talent and performance, a turnover-free outing would be helpful.

Unfortunately for the St. James High football squad, that didn’t happen Friday, Oct. 30.

In a back-and-forth tussle, third-seeded St. James committed five turnovers. That helped sixth-seeded Salem score the game’s final two touchdowns and post a 25-14 victory in the opening round of Missouri Class 3 District 5 Tournament action Friday at St. James’ Tiger Field.

Salem was the opponent in St. James’ opening and ending games this season, splitting the two contests. St. James ends the campaign with a 2-8 record.

Salem improves to 3-7. With the win Salem ended a six-game losing streak to St. James that covered the last five seasons.

The other District 5 games Friday were blowouts, as second-seeded Strafford shut out Pleasant Hope 68-0 while fifth-seeded Buffalo doubled up fourth-seeded Cuba 48-24. Top-seeded Mountain Grove got a first-round bye.

In District 5 semifinal games at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, Salem travels to Strafford while Mountain Grove hosts Buffalo. The district championship game is slated for Nov. 13.

A St. James fumble trying to receive a punt midway through the third quarter gave Salem the ball at the STJ 28 yardline. After two plays and a five-yard Salem penalty, Salem took the lead for good when sophomore Nicholas Hardecke, a surprise starter at quarterback, fired a pass to QB-turned-running back Sylis DuBois, and DeBois, a senior, raced 32 yards for a touchdown reception at the 5:01 mark of the third period. The two-point conversion pass was incomplete, leaving the score 18-14.

After the two teams swapped lost fumbles - St. James’ on another punt and Salem on a bobbled pitch - St. James had the ball at midfield in the fourth period.

However, a three-and-out forced STJ to punt it back to Salem, which would put together a 75-yard, eight-play scoring drive. Salem got the touchdown on a breakaway, 41-yard TD run by sophomore running back Tripp Creek with 1:04 remaining.

An interception on the next St. James possession iced things for Salem.

St. James lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions.

“Turnovers were killers,” said St. James head coach Dusty Craft. “Those muffed punts... Returning punts in high school football is one of the toughest things you can do on high punts. We were going back and forth there for a while.”

Salem opened the scoring when DuBois got loose on an 88-yard TD run. St. James took a 7-6 lead when senior quarterback Owen Spurgeon capped a long 65-yard, 14-play drive with a one-yard TD plunge at the 7:18 mark of the second period.

That didn’t last long. After the ensuing kickoff Salem regained the advantage when sophomore running back Jacob Gover took a handoff, got to the right sidelines and was off for a 60-yard touchdown run. The conversion failed, leaving it 12-7.

Another big play would give St. James its final lead of the season in the third quarter, as Spurgeon hit senior wideout Owen Jackson with a pass, and Jackson got to the right sideline past the secondary for a 57-yard TD reception at the 7:59 mark. Senior Grant Arnold added his second PAT of the contest.

Spurgeon hit on 7-of-16 passes for 101 yards while rushing for a team-high 36 yards.

Salem went with a youth movement late in the season, and had some young players fill big roles against St. James.

Salem finished with 296 yards of total offense - 264 of that on the ground. DuBois definitely with the look of a running back, rushing for 111 yards on 10 carries while catching the team’s lone pass completion for the TD. Gover ran for 101 yards on 17 carries and Creek finished with 55 rushing yards.

“It surprised me they went with their young guy at quarterback,” Craft said of Hardecke. “But I think the move made sense for them.”

During the frustrating eight-game losing skid to end the season St. James was very close to pulling out a few victories.

“The kids were in the majority of games they played,” Craft said. “At one point we were five points away from being 4-2 instead of 2-4. That’s a tribute to the work ethic of our kids; their willingness to battle.”

After a short break St. James will begin preparing for the 2027 campaign.

“We’re going to miss the heck out of our seniors,” Craft said. “Filling their holes will not be easy. But I’m excited with what our young guys bring to the table.”

The box score:

Oct. 30 at St. James

Salem 25, St. James 14

Team Statistics

First Downs: STJ 9, SHS 11

Yards Rushing: STJ 83, SHS 264

Yards Passing: STJ 101, SHS 32

Total Yards: STJ 184, SHS 296

Passing: STJ 7-16, SHS 1-8

Int. Thrown: STJ 2, SHS 1

Fumbles Lost: STJ 3, SHS 2

Penalties: STJ 3-25, SHS 14-101

Punting: STJ 4-37.8, SHS 4-42.0

The score by periods:

Salem        6   6   6   7-25

St. James   0   7   7   0-14

The scoring plays:

Salem: DuBois 88-yard run, kick fails (1:51).

St. James: Spurgeon one-yard run, Arnold kick (7:18).

Salem: Gover 60-yard run, conversion fails (7:01).

St. James: O. Jackson 57-yard pass from Spurgeon, Arnold kick (7:59).

Salem: DuBois 32-yard pass from Hardecke, conversion fails (5:01).

Salem: Creek 41-yard run, Land kick (1:04).

Individual Statistics

Rushing - St. James: King 9 for 16, Lonning 4 for 4, Holt 3 for 7, Spurgeon 16 for 36, Nicholson 3 for 20. Salem: Gover 17 for 101, DuBois 10 for 111, Creek 4 for 55, Ray 7 for 9, Hardecke 1 for minus-12, TEAM 2 for 0.

Passing - St. James: Spurgeon 7-16-101-2. Salem: Hardecke 1-8-32-1.

Receiving - St. James: Nicholson 4 for 23, Freeman 2 for 21, O. Jackson 1 for 57. Salem: DuBois 1 for 32.