In a game of inches, St. Paul’s needed a yard to secure a successful homecoming.

The Wolves stopped Ponchatoula’s Joseph Green on the 1-yard line and changed the momentum midway through the fourth quarter in St. Paul’s 42-28 District 6-5A victory Friday night at Hunter Stadium.

“That was a game changer,” St. Paul’s defensive end Houston Bates said. “It was a big play for us.” The Wolves (6-2, 3-2) appeared to have broken open a close game by scoring two touchdowns in a span of less then four minutes in the third quarter to take a 35-21 lead. But the Green Wave (3-4, 1-4), behind Green’s running, was poised to make it a one score game by driving to the St. Paul’s 1-yard, where it faced a fourth down.

Green, who gained 210 yards on 27 carries, was stuffed by the Wolves’ defensive line as he tried to follow his left guard and tackle into the end zone.

“We get it to the one and don’t score,” Ponchatoula coach Mike Baiamonte said. “That would have put us back in the game.”

Green was instrumental in sending in a chill through the St. Paul’s crowd on a fall night as upset-minded Ponchatoula played the favored Wolves to a draw at 21 at halftime. Green had 134 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns at the break.

“We played well early and that’s something we had not done in a long time,” Baiamonte said. “We feel like we have the opportunity to win every time we step on the field.

“Our kids, our coaches were all prepared. But programs win games, and (St. Paul’s) is a good program.”

The Wolves turned it around midway through the third quarter with a pair of short scoring drives. Joseph Long returned a punt 16 yards to set up the Wolves at the Green Wave 24-yard line. Two plays later Stephon Smith scored on a 13-yard run to give St. Paul’s a 28-21 lead with 6:45 left in the quarter.

The Green Wave’s Hamilton Livingston fumbled the ensuing kickoff and after retrieving the ball at the 1-yard line, was stopped at the 16. Jordan Bodenheimer’s sack of Ponchatoula quarterback Eldrid Palmer forced the Green Wave back to the 6-yard line, and following a short Ponchatoula punt, the Wolves took possession at the Ponchatoula 28.

It only took three plays for Mikhail Washington to score his third touchdown from 1-yard out and give the Wolves a 35-21 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

“Our coaches are the greatest at making adjustments at halftime,” said St. Paul’s defensive end Nick Logarbo, explaining the Wolves second half success through the season. “Some teams get back on their heels at halftime. That’s when we have to come out and jump on them.”

A halftime defensive adjustment helped stymie Green for most of the second half. He was held to 33 yards until breaking loose for a 43-yard touchdown run late in the game.

“The whole defensive line was keying (on Green) in the second half,” Bates said. “He was our focus. We let the linebackers take care of the quarterback.”

Green, who also threw a 33-yard completion, accounted for 243 of the Green Wave’s 255 yards.

“He’s a very talented running back,” St. Paul’s coach Ken Sears said. “They are a good team and deserve a lot of credit. We made some adjustments at halftime and came out and did a better job.”

Washington led the Wolves with 90 yards on 11 carries, including first half scoring runs of 12 and 14 yards. Smith added 53 yards on 9 carries.

“We are capable of playing better defensively,” Baiamonte said. “It’s not for lack of effort by the kids or the coaches. We have to find a way to get them better.”

Ponchatoula stumbled on its opening drive when Jacques West fumbled on the Green Wave’s third play. Logarbo, who also had an interception in the fourth quarter, recovered the fumble and returned the ball 11 yards to the Ponchatoula 20-yard line.

Three plays later, Washington scored from 12 yards out to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead with 8:26 left in the first quarter.

The Green Wave answered with a 10-play, 74-yard drive, the score coming on Green’s 31-yard run at the 2:47 mark. A missed extra-point attempt left Ponchatoula trailing by one.

St. Paul’s increased its lead to 14-6 on Washington’s 14-yard run with one minute left in the first quarter, capping a 4-play, 70-yard drive. The key play was Alec Duncan’s 19-yard pass to Jermaine Sams that carried to the Ponchatoula 40-yard line.

The Green Wave wasted little time in tying the score, as Ponchatoula drove 75 yards in six plays, the payoff coming on Palmer’s 5-yard run. Green’s two-point conversion run tied the score at 14 with 10:17 left in the first half.

Ponchatoula’s Corey Morse recovered a Duncan fumble at the Wolves’ 13-yard line on the ensuing drive, and four plays later Green scored on a 2-yard run to give the Green Wave a 21-14 lead with 7:21 left in the first half.

St. Paul’s tied it with 33 seconds left in the half on Michael Marino’s 2-yard run. The drive began at the Ponchatoula 28 following Long’s 22-yard punt return and a personal foul against the Green Wave.

“I was glad to score right before the half,” Sears said. “It gave us momentum for the second half.”