Jags hope to build momentum for Class 7A postseason run

The Spain Park High School football team will not be able to duplicate its 2015 performance in Class 7A, Region 3, but the Jaguars have no shortage of goals in 2016.

A loss to Hoover in September took another undefeated region slate off the table, but records can be meaningless come playoff time.

The Jags conclude the regular season in October with four games: three region contests followed by a non-region contest at Minor to conclude the 10-game slate.

They opened the month with a Thursday night contest at Thompson on Oct. 6, a team on the rise in Mark Freeman’s second season in Alabaster. The Jags have had an abundance of success against the Warriors in recent years and continued that last week. A Damarius Farmer interception turned the tide, as Spain Park pulled off a 17-14 victory. The Jags have beaten Thompson each year since 2009.

The Jags then host Tuscaloosa County in their final regular season home game this Friday, Oct. 14. The defense dominated on its way to a 24-0 win over the Wildcats last fall. Spain Park has won three of the four games the two teams have played, with two coming via shutout.

A trip to Heardmont Park Oct. 21 wraps up the Region 3 gauntlet for the Jags, as they take on the resilient Eagles squad from Oak Mountain. The Jags held off the Eagles last year to finish off their unbeaten region road.

Spain Park had its eight-game winning streak against the Eagles snapped in 2014.

The Jags’ non-region contest against Class 6A Minor on Oct. 27 will prepare Spain Park for the 7A postseason, should it qualify. Minor is a top-notch 6A team that advanced to the third round in 2015 behind the explosiveness of do-it-all athlete Jaylond Adams, who is now a senior. 

The two teams last met in the second round of the 2009 state playoffs.