WHAT WE SAW: Stratford 35, St. James 10

Ian Guerin September 23, 2022 @ 10:35 PM

MYRTLE BEACH | Throughout the difficult schedule of the last two years, Stratford coach Dennie McDaniel has seen progress galore in Jalen Barry.   The junior quarterback showed plenty more Friday.   In beating St. James 35-10, Barry put together a game that netting 204 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns and another 58 yards on the ground. He spurred the Knights during a huge second quarter led the team to their first win of the 2022 season,    “He proved it last year as a sophomore when he started football games for us,” McDaniel said. “He's a guy that gets us going. There are times when he hesitates. He has to get into the feel of the game a little bit. That's something we try to get into early with him. He's a junior and he's got 15, 16 5A games under his belt. We tell him ‘You've got to play like a senior now.'”   Barry was everything Stratford needed him to be in this game.   With St. James obviously keying on the Knights' run game early, Barry opened things up by completing four of his first six passes, including his first touchdown, a 35-yarder to Will Aleff.   What impressed his coaches more, though, was the drive that led to his second touchdown pass.   With a little over 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Barry and the offense started on their own 25-yard line. He connected with Savionne Jones for a 24-yard pass and then a seven-yarder to move the Knights into St. James territory.   He found Tim Lloyd on a dump off for another short connection. After a St. James penalty moved the ball to the 17-yard line, though, Barry made his biggest mark on the game.   He checked out of the play call from the sideline and hit Brett Marrs for a wide-open 17-yard touchdown that sent the Knights into halftime with a four-touchdown lead and many of the Sharks fans who showed up to see the team's new artificial turf toward the exits.   OTHER STRATFORD STANDOUTS   Stratford was playing without standout receiver Jakai Robinson (injury), and that gave Barry plenty of reason to spread it around more.   Stratford's Jones (four receptions, 65 yards), Aleff (two, 50, TD), Lloyd (two, 39), Marrs (two, 31, TD) and Jayden Martino (one, 19) all caught passes in the game. That helped open things up for the running game.   Lance Depass scored his first touchdown on the season in the first quarter and rushed for 97 yards on just five carries. Lloyd went over 100 yards on 12 carries, two of which went for touchdowns.   ABOUT THE SHARKS Punter and kicker [player_tooltip player_id='443507' first='Daniel' last='Deneen'] didn't fall into whatever spiral caught most of his teammates.   The senior pinned Stratford inside its own 20-yard line on four occasions after failed St. James drives. He also easily made a 26-yard field (and his one PAT) and also put his three kickoffs into the end zone.   Kiondre' Haynes might start getting some more looks at running back after he spelled the normal contributors there and rushed five times for 68 yards and the team's only touchdown of the game. Haynes, who is normally a starter at cornerback, also came close to an interception that would have been a sure-fire pick-six.   St. James did force one Stratford turnover, and that was thanks to defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1146273' first='Ryan' last='Largin']. The junior jumped a route on the Knights' first series of the second half, setting up Deneen's field goal.

MYRTLE BEACH | Throughout the difficult schedule of the last two years, Stratford coach Dennie McDaniel has seen progress galore in Jalen Barry.