Crucial run sets Spartans up for huge win

Spain Park took control of the ball midway through the fourth quarter with a mission: to eat up yardage and bleed clock at the same time.

Mission accomplished.

The Jags started the drive at their own 20-yard line with 7:23 remaining in the game. They put together a tough, turf-mulching, time-sucking, 14-play drive, capped off by D’Arie Johnson’s 1-yard run on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line.

But Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager refused to sit idly by and watch the game disappear from his grasp. He used his three timeouts to save precious seconds for his offense that is not built to strike quickly.

His strategy left 3:33 on the game clock after Johnson’s go-ahead score to give the Jags a 21-20 edge.

Quarterback Hamp Sisson knew what the plan was.

“We knew we were going to have to get first downs and get out of bounds,” Sisson said. “We were going to attack the flats and attack the short passes and we were just going to get the ball in field goal range as soon as we could.”

A strike over the middle to Wilson Higgins put the Spartans near midfield, not far from Mason Dillard’s field goal range. Dillard had already connected on 37- and 31-yard field goal tries, with plenty of leg to spare on both.

“I was just kind of nervous that we weren’t going to have enough time to get down the field," Dillard said.

A few plays later, Sisson took matters into his own hands and erased all doubt as to whether or not the Spartans could get close enough for Dillard.

The play call was for Sisson to take the snap and run wide to the right side. He only took a few steps in that direction before cutting back to his left towards green grass. As he neared the sideline, it looked as if he was ready to concede a medium gain and step out of bounds.

Nope.

Wide receiver Sean Elmore stepped in and delivered a huge block that gave Sisson just enough space to burst down the sideline, getting all the way inside the 10-yard line.

From there, it was a piece of cake. At least that’s what Dillard told himself.

“I’m just like, ‘You’ve done this before, you’ve been in this situation, you’ve got this,” said Dillard, who kicked a game-winning field goal to beat Tuscaloosa County in 2015.

The final play before the Spartans ran the field goal team onto the field was a run up the middle by Harold Joiner with roughly 30 seconds to play. The clock was running, but Dillard knew he had time.

“I’m not going to rush myself,” Dillard thought. “If I do my routine, I’m going to make my kick.”

He made it. The celebration began. Yeager even got caught up in the madness, emerging from the mob with a bloody cheek.

"That's what happens when you jump in a pile without a helmet on," Yeager joked after the game.

Dillard’s teammates are not surprised to see him come through in the big moments, because they see it every day in practice.

“Mason’s one of the hardest workers on the team, by far,” Sisson said. “He works so hard and I knew we could trust him if we got it in field goal range.”

The meaning of the win was not lost on the Spartans either, as they improved to 4-1 on the year and 2-1 in Class 7A, Region 3 play, already topping their win total from the previous two seasons.

“That was huge,” Sisson said. “This is awesome for the team. This team is a family.”