Dillard's leg lifts Spartans

It was the foot of Mason Dillard that headlined Mountain Brook’s 23-21 win over Spain Park on Friday night in Jaguar Stadium. The senior kicker led the Spartans to victory with three field goals in his team’s fourth win of the season.

“Just clutch,” said Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager.  “People see the end product of all his work but don’t see all the hours he spends on the field kicking despite the time of day or weather.”

Dillard had ice water running through his veins all evening, as he connected from 37, 31, and 24 yards, the final one sealing the deal with six seconds remaining.

A scoreless first quarter was followed by three action-packed quarters. Spain Park (3-2, 1-2 Class 7A, Region 3) struck first when quarterback Hunter Howell connected with Thomas Jordan from 22 yards out with 9:38 to play in the second quarter. Howell finished the night 10 of 16 for 80 yards.

The Spartans (4-1, 2-1) responded later in the second quarter when Dillard put the ball through the uprights twice in the final three minutes of the first half. After Dillard’s first field goal, the Jags lined up and a high snap sailed over Howell’s head. Linebacker Tanner Dean pounced on it and the Spartans took over on the Jaguar 16-yard line, leading to Dillard’s second field goal, one that pulled Mountain Brook to within a point, 7-6, at the half.

Mountain Brook continued to play well in the third quarter. After a long drive highlighted by a 38-yard run from Harold Joiner, quarterback Hamp Sisson charged in from 1 yard out to give the Spartans a 13-7 lead. The Spartans tried a pooch kick on the ensuing kickoff and found a soft spot in the Spain Park coverage team. Mountain Brook recovered, and Sisson found a wide open Sims Herron in the back of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.

Yeager claimed the pooch kick was the call of Mountain Brook assistant Chad Cochran. “He saw it and I trusted his judgment. He did a great job with the film and it turned out to be the game changing play.”

“We were on our heels and they were putting it to us, but I liked how we responded,” said Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney.

Raney liked how his team responded to the 13-point deficit.

“Our offense got some stuff going and we made some plays on defense,” he said.

D’Arie Johnson scored twice on the ground for the Jags. He put his team ahead 21-20 after he punched it in on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. Johnson combined with Larry Wooden for 236 of the team’s 240 rushing yards.

For the Spartans, Sisson led offensively using both his feet and arms. He ran for a team-high 108 yards on 17 carries and completed 12 of 21 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Joiner had 14 carries for 80 yards and Herron added 3 receptions for 42 yards.

Spain Park outgained Mountain Brook 307 yards to 289. Mountain Brook’s Will Wetzler was all over the field defensively, registering 18 tackles.

“You have to play all four quarters, or you’re going to get beat. And that’s what happened to us” Raney remarked.

Both teams have an open week next week.