Howell's arms leads Jags over Vestavia Hills
Hunter Howell’s arm was set ablaze and the fire was never put out, as Spain Park (3-0) dove into Class 7A, Region 3 play with a 28-14 win over Vestavia Hills on Friday night at Spain Park Stadium.
“Hunter knows where to go with the ball. He’s doing what he’s coached to do and he’s having a lot of success. It’s a lot of fun to watch,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said.
Howell completed all 10 passes he threw in the first half, including a pretty 28-yard hitch-and-go route to Thomas Jordan, followed up by a 15-yard strike down the middle to Jordan for a touchdown.
The score with just over five minutes remaining gave the Jaguars a 14-0 lead, after Larry Wooden scored from three yards out on Spain Park’s first drive of the game.
“That’s what (Raney) preached: energy,” Wooden said. “We came out here with a lot of energy. In practice, we start over if we don’t have enough energy.”
Howell finished the game 17-of-20 for 218 yards and three scores. Wooden wrapped up his evening with 65 yards and a score on 11 carries, with 77 yards receiving.
Vestavia Hills (1-1) did not stay down long. The Rebels marched down the field just before the break and cut the lead in half, to 14-7, on a pass to the corner of the end zone that Mitchell Langley was successfully able to drag his foot and get the 9-yard touchdown reception.
“That gave us great momentum,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said.
However, that momentum was quashed early in the third quarter, when the Rebels committed a 15-yard penalty that destroyed any hopes of a successful drive to start the half. Anderson credited that mistake to lack of experience.
He said, “Our guys have got a lot of inexperience. You learn by experience. That’s the only way you learn.”
Spain Park extended its lead to a pair of scores on its first drive of the third quarter, as Howell connected with William Mee for a 24-yard touchdown strike down the middle.
The Rebels followed that with a nine-play drive of all running plays. William Schaffield capped it off with a 1-yard plunge.
Spain Park needed a fourth down conversion on its next drive, and got it, as Wooden caught a short pass, made a defender miss, and ran 22 yards for the conversion and the touchdown.
D’Arie Johnson cleaned up the rest of the game, rushing for 71 yards on 16 carries. Jordan finished with 77 yards and a touchdown on 5 catches.
Raney emphasized the importance of the win to his team leading up to the game.
“Huge,” he said. “I told them today, everybody’s standing at the bottom of the ladder, and four people are going to step up, and four of them are going to stay on the ground. When you take a step and look down, that’s huge at this time of the year.”
Spain Park will take on its fiercest rival next week in Hoover. Raney said he has not “even thought about it,” but knows its importance.
“Their program’s a tremendous program that we’re trying to get to. We’ll go over there and see what we can do.”
Vestavia Hills plays at Oak Mountain next week.