Spartans pull away from Jackson-Olin
MOUNTAIN BROOK -- The Mountain Brook High School football team defeated Jackson-Olin 45-14 at home on Friday night, advancing to the third round of the Class 6A playoffs.
A dominant defensive performance, especially in the second half of the game, and a balanced offensive attack propelled Mountain Brook to the win, the Spartans' sixth in a row.
“I’m really proud of the way our guys played,” said Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager.
The Spartans opened up the scoring on their first drive of the game, getting out to a 3-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Reed Harradine midway through the first quarter. Mountain Brook then scored touchdowns on its next two drives to make it 17-0. Junior running back Will Waldrop got the first touchdown of the game, taking the ball in from 13 yards out. The Spartans followed that up with a touchdown through the air when junior quarterback John Colvin hit junior receiver Jackson Beatty on a 19-yard pass, which Beatty reeled in with one hand.
Jackson-Olin broke up the shutout on its next drive, though, ending Mountain Brook’s hopes for a seventh shutout this season. Mustangs quarterback Malek Lowe found receiver Rashad Sager in the end zone to make it 17-6 after the failed two-point conversion with 6:28 left in the half.
Mountain Brook responded quickly, however, scoring two plays later when Colvin linked up with Beatty again, this time on a pass across the middle of the field, which Beatty took in for the 55-yard score.
Up 24-6 before the half, the Spartans looked poised to score again before the break, but Jackson-Olin’s Jabari Poellnitz stepped in front of Colvin’s pass and ran it back about 70 yards for the pick-six. This time the Mustangs converted on the two-point try to make it 24-14 heading into the locker room.
“If you think about that eight points there and that we were driving for seven, that’s a 15-point swing,” Yeager said. “We can’t think about that 15-point swing, we’ve got to think about that next play and execute that next play. We came back and threw that same route later again and again. And that’s what you want to do is self-correct, clean up your mistakes and move on.”
The Spartans did move on in the second half and in dominant fashion. Mountain Brook forced a Jackson-Olin three-and-out on the first drive of the second half and four plays later increased the lead to 17 points when Colvin found Beatty for the third time in the game, connecting for a 51-yard score. The remainder of the game would follow a similar trend.
Colvin would finish the game with 172 passing yards, 125 of which went to Beatty.
“The play-action pass was there tonight,” Yeager said. “They were packing the box trying to stop the run so the play action pass was there and that’s what we hit (Beatty) on.”
“(Colvin) did a good job of getting the ball to him and the line did a great job of protecting,” Yeager added.
Will Waldrop, who finished the game with 24 carries for 182 yards, would tack on the final two touchdowns, rushing from 1 yard and 23 yards out, to give him three for the game and give the Spartans their final 45-14 lead.
“(Waldrop) makes great decisions,” Yeager said. “When you’re playing a team like Jackson-Olin there are no holes, it’s just little seams, tiny seams, and some of those seams look about as wide as a credit card. You got to take what they give you and he’s good at that.”
The Spartans defense was also suffocating in the final 24 minutes, not allowing the Mustangs to get back into the end zone. Mountain Brook forced Jackson-Olin into four punts, including three three-and-outs in the second half, and also added a turnover on an interception.
“This was a good, physical football team and it was a good test for us,” Yeager said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to play another week. I told them at halftime you guys are the luckiest guys in the world because it's a Friday night and you’re getting to play football. And I told them (just now) it’s Friday night and you get to play another Friday night. That’s what’s great about it. Getting to keep being together as a team, get to move forward, and get to try to improve.”
Mountain Brook advances to the quarterfinals of the playoffs for the second straight season. The Spartans will head to Pinson Valley next Friday night.