Second-half surge spurs Spartans
MOUNTAIN BROOK -- Two big, early plays by the Spain Park High School football team couldn’t keep Mountain Brook down on Friday night.
Bit by bit, the Spartans rallied for a 24-14 key Class 7A, Region 3 home win.
The Jaguars got a 77-yard touchdown pass from Mason Pronk to Jalen Henderson on their first possession, via a screen, and a 67-yard touchdown run from Henderson early in the second quarter.
But the Spartans (4-0, 2-0 in region) scored 24 unanswered to finish it off.
It started with a 24-yard field goal from Aidan Hood to end the first half on a drive that Mountain Brook started at its own 20.
“We felt like we had played pretty good ball and shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said. “We felt like that at the end of the first half, we started to get some answers.”
The second half started with a big defensive spark. On the second play, Clark Griffin stripped Kameron McDaniel after he caught a short pass from Pronk. Alex Washington, who didn’t join the football team until this summer as a senior, picked up the loose ball and scored from 17 yards out.
Later in the third, Daniel Wilbanks scored on a 7-yard shovel pass from Strother Gibbs. A.J. Gates, who led Mountain Brook with 107 yards rushing on 16 carries, scored from 8 yards out to seal the scoring.
“I stepped up and did what I was supposed to do for my team,” Gates said. “I didn’t let them down. I was tired, but we needed to win this game.”
Gates' successful scamper came after a 36-yard run on a double reverse from Hamp Greene. Prior to that, Gibbs converted a fourth-and-1 with a six-yard run.
Spain Park was held to just 15 yards on the ground in the second half after rushing for 133 in the first half. Henderson finished with 105 yards on 15 carries.
“We're just making some mental mistakes and we stayed to the game plan,” said Washington, who intercepted backup quarterback Harrison Barker in the end zone on Spain Park’s final drive. “(On the fumble), I saw my teammate rip it out. I saw the ball and tried to score.”
It was a third straight loss for the Jaguars, who dropped to 1-3. They are 0-2 in a tough region, with Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover, Oak Mountain and Thompson still looming.
“We couldn’t get anything established offensively, and I thought our defense got tired,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “We’re just inventing ways to lose games. We’ve got to get it turned somehow because it gets tougher and tougher in this region."
Pronk, a senior, finished 7-of-15 for 111 yards with an interception. Barker came in on the last drive and drove the Jaguars inside the 10 before Washington intercepted him in the end zone. He finished 3-of-7 for 60 yards.
Mountain Brook’s Gibbs, just a sophomore, hit 14-of-18 passes for 144 yards. Pierce Rodrigues caught four balls for 73 yards.
Mountain Brook was without linebacker Colton Yeager and right tackle Beau Hubbard due to injuries.
“We built depth in this game, and it’s what we needed,” Yeager said.
The Spartans host Vestavia Hills next week, while the Jaguars host Hewitt-Trussville.
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