St. James builds big lead, coasts past Hannah-Pamplico

Zach Werba didn’t throw the ball much Friday night.

When he did, though, he made the most of it.

The St. James senior quarterback was 4-for-7 passing – with all four completions ending in touchdowns – in a 42-7 victory over Hannah-Pamplico.

“We ran it a lot, but we just hit some big plays when we did throw it,” Sharks coach Robby Brown said. “Werba did a good job throwing the ball.”

The passing-game scores accounted for St. James’ first four touchdowns, and the Sharks took a 42-0 lead into halftime. Sage Pasco had the first TD reception, Trey Myers grabbed the next two and Jackson Hurston hauled in the final one.

“I was glad [we came out of] our open week and played well tonight,” Brown said. “The offense played good and the defense did the same thing, played well. It was a good win for us and we needed it.”

Jelin Bellamy and Jamarius Faulkner each ran for scores as St. James did most of its damage on the ground.

“We felt we ran it more tonight than normal,” Brown said.

Defensively, the Sharks dominated. The Raiders’ only score came on a drive in the third quarter after the game was already out of reach.

“They played good. They didn’t give up any big plays and they played a solid game,” Brown said. “They had that one drive in the third quarter when they drove it down and scored. But other than that, I was proud of the first group that was out there, just not giving up the big plays.”

The win put St. James (2-2) back at .500 as it prepares for next week’s game against rival Socastee, a 30-22 winner over North Myrtle Beach on Friday.

“I haven’t watched any film on them yet, but it’s a rivalry game. It’s big,” Brown said. “I don’t think St. James has won but two in the last 12 years [in the series]. We’ll have our hands full and we know that. We’ll have to go in and have a game plan. We know we can’t put the ball on the ground and give up big plays.

“It’s a big week and we’re looking forward to it.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "St. James builds big lead, coasts past Hannah-Pamplico."