By By Trey O'Brien/Special to The Star
Sept. 8, 2001
DEKALB In a game that was ironically reminiscent of the Mississippi State-Memphis game from this past Monday, the Kemper Academy Rams fought hard in the first half before being overpovered by University Christian School.
The visiting Flames piled up 451 total yards of offense to overcome a penalty-plagued first half in which they would see back-to-back long yardage plays negated because of yellow flags.
UCS overcame a fierce effort by the homestanding Rams, who were led by Adam Davis' 137-yards rushing. In their initial home game, Kemper Academy came out charged up in the first half as they held the Flames' high-powered offense scoreless through the first quarter.
UCS finally broke the scoring barrier mid-way through the 2nd quarter with a 72-yard catch and run by junior RB Ross Myers. The pass almost never took flight as Flames QB Jeremy Phillips heaved the forward pass as he was being dragged down by a Ram defender.
The game changed complexions quickly as Kemper Academy sustained a long drive down to the UCS 3-yard line at the close of the half. Rams QB Jake Hand snuck the ball across the goal line as the time expired to even up the score at half-time 7-7.
Kemper Academy head coach Gary Lee stated, "The boys really played hard in the first half. We sustained some drives and really carried the momentum into the half. However, with only 2 seniors this year and 19 players total, it was tough to maintain that level against a bigger, faster, and stronger team. It really comes down to a numbers game."
There were plenty of numbers to note in the 2nd half as UCS pounded on the Ram defense. With the assistance of four 2nd half turnovers by Kemper Academy, the Flames burned the home team by outscoring them 25-0 in the final half. Leading the charge for UCS was Myers, who amassed 107 yards on only 8 carries and tackled on another touchdown on a 43-yard rumble. Lee Legrand, Josh Buckner, and Chris Allen added scores to the UCS cause as the Flames ran away from the Rams.