Five takeaways and touchdown runs of 78, 69, 33 and 29 yards were not quite enough to dethrone St. James, the defending Class 3A state champ.

Mobile Christian still needed a defensive stand in the final minute of the game to advance to knock off the Trojans and advance to next week’s title game. That’s exactly what the top-ranked and undefeated Leopards (14-0) got to secure a 34-30 semifinal victory Friday night at Harrison Field in Mobile.

“What a win,” Mobile Christian coach Ronnie Cottrell said. “I don’t know what could be more satisfying than for our defense to make a stand to win the game against such a great team.”

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The Leopards took a 34-24 lead with 3:49 remaining when sophomore PJ Brown scored on a 29-yard touchdown run.

But St. James wasn’t done. The Trojans drove 80 yards in only 50 seconds. Star quarterback and Arkansas commit K.J. Jackson passed for 70 yards and ran for 10 more on the drive. The final 29 yards came on a deep pass to Tabor Offord with 2:58 remaining to cut the lead to 34-30.

The Trojans elected to go for the onside kick, which was executed perfectly by Jake Huff. Offord recovered the kick to set up the dramatic finish.

A 23-yard scramble by Jackson opened the ensuing drive and moved the ball to the Mobile Christian 30. Another Jackson scramble put the ball at the 17 with a minute to go.

But two sacks by Floyd-Dawens Boucard on the final drive helped set up a fourth-and-17 from the 24. Jackson was flushed from the pocket but managed to launch a pass that was perfectly defended by Jordan Woullard, who knocked the ball away.

“We worked so hard for this,” said Mobile Christian linebacker Kentonio Kelly Jr., who had a first-half interception. “We played against a great quarterback, but we came together and had a great performance.”

Jackson found success on the ground and through the air. He ran 29 times for 189 yards with one touchdown. He completed 19-of-31 passes for 260 yards and three more touchdowns.

Mobile Christian intercepted Jackson twice and also recovered three Trojans’ fumbles.

Mobile Christian had only one turnover and one penalty.

Player of the Game: Brown logged only four of his 14 carries in the second half because the Leopards didn’t have the ball much. But he still finished with 212 yards and touchdowns runs of 78, 33 and 29 yards, finishing with an average of 15.1 yards per carry. After a slow start, he final eight carries netted 198 yards.

Weird stat: Mobile Christian ran only three offensive plays in the third quarter but the Leopards increase their 14-10 halftime lead to 21-10. The key play was a 69-yard touchdown run by quarterback Damien Gatson.

By the numbers: Mobile Christian ran the ball for 300 yards and averaged 9.9 yards per play but St. James still outgained the Leopards almost 200 yards. Mobile Christian rushed 22 times for 300 yards and completed 7-of-12 passes for 35 yards, for a total of 335 yards. St. James had an incredibly balanced offense, rushing 39 times for 254 yards and passing for 260 yards, for a total of 514 yards. The Trojans averaged 7.3 yards per play on 70 snaps, which was more than double the plays of the Leopards.

Coachspeak: “We battled and battled and battled. We lost to a really great football team.” – St. James coach Neal Posey

What’s next?: Mobile Christian advances to the 3A state championship game, set for Thursday at 11 a.m.m at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Leopards will face undefeated Madison Academy, which defeated Geraldine 48-43 in the other semifinal. This will be Mobile Christian’s third trip to the state championship game. The school has never claimed an AHSAA state championship in football. Defending state champion St. James ends its season with an 11-3 record.