Fast start, hard finish push Jags to victory
The Spain Park High School football team (1-0) relied on a fast start and a hard defensive finish to earn a season-opening, 21-17 road victory against Gadsden City High School (0-1) on Friday, Aug. 19.
Leaning on a forceful rushing game and gritty defense, the Jags that took the field underneath the lights of Titan Stadium on a muggy, summer evening largely resembled the same team that advanced to the Class 7A state final last season.
“I think our kids find a way to win, and that’s what we did last year,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “There were a lot of games that looked bleak for us, and our kids just continue to play, and I just keep telling them, ‘Believe in your teammates, believe in your coaches,’ and I think they do that. If we do that, we’ve always got a chance.”
Jags defensive back Damarius Farmer produced the game’s critical play with just over 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Gadsden City trailed Spain Park 21-17, and the Titans elected to go for it on fourth and 4 from the Spain Park 7-yard line.
After the combination of a timeout and clock delay contributed to a build up in anticipation, Titans quarterback Ryan Sparks rolled out to his right and lobbed a ball to the near, front corner of the end zone.
Farmer plucked the wobbling spiral from the air for the game-sealing interception.
Farmer, a senior, said his fourth-quarter heroics even left him in a state of joyous disillusionment.
“That was amazing,” Farmer said. “I couldn’t believe it myself.”
The pivotal stop was the Jags’ second in as many chances.
On the previous Gadsden City possession, the Spain Park defense held its opponent to a field goal, despite the Titans' drive beginning at the Jags’ 27-yard line.
“These games this early are ugly, and fortunately we just played pretty enough to win tonight, so thank the Lord for that," Raney said.
Fortune, as Raney alluded to, played a role as well.
Spain Park caught two big breaks—one in the first half, one in the second half—when a pair of game-changing plays for Gadsden City got called back due to a pair of penalties.
The first, an 80-plus yard first-quarter run by Titans running back Damon Williams, was called back because of a chop block penalty. The second, a Titans punt return that went for a TD in the fourth quarter, was called back because of a roughing-the-punter penalty.
“That’s football,” Raney said in reference to catching the big breaks. “I think there’s some on our side, too, that it balances out. I know everybody does the best they can do, and I thought it kind of evened out on both sides tonight.”
Thanks to rushing touchdowns from running backs Larry Wooden and D’arie Johnson, along with a strip-and-score TD courtesy of linebacker Rayfe Richey, Spain Park led Gadsden City 21-14 at halftime.
Wooden rumbled into the end zone from 4 yards out on the Jags’ opening possession to give his team a 7-0 lead. The touchdown run capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ate up almost five minutes of clock time.
“It was a good confidence boost,” Wooden said. “I was unsure at the beginning of the game, but as we went throughout the game, I got more confident."
Just under five minutes later, Richey snatched the ball from the hands of a Titan running back on a routine run play up the gut. Richey then bustled about 15 yards before crossing the goal line.
“I just stripped it out. They were all piled up. They had the tackle secured, and I just took it out,” Richey said.
Without the stroke of good fortune on the preceding play, it’s unlikely the defensive highlight would have happened.
Richey’s strip and score came on the play directly after Gadsden City’s Williams had his 80-plus yard rush omitted due to penalty.
Had it not been called back, the Titans would have been positioned deep in the Jags’ red zone with a chance to take the lead. Williams had already rushed into the end zone from 6 yards out on his team’s prior position—its first of the game.
Johnson, the Spain Park running back, scored the Jags’ final TD of the first half with 3:33 remaining in the second quarter. He capped a 54-yard drive when he burst for 9 yards through the heart of the Titans’ defense into the end zone.
Gadsden City rounded out first half scoring when Sparks, the Titans QB, tossed a 13-yard TD pass with 1:17 remaining in the second quarter.
Collectively, the Spain Park offense outgained Gadsden City 275 to 163 yards.
Johnson, a junior, finished with 107 yards rushing on 16 attempts, and Wooden finished with 56 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
Spain Park senior quarterback Hunter Howell went 14-for-21 passing, and finished the game with 105 yards and an interception. Wooden hauled in seven receptions for 58 yards, and senior wide receiver Thomas Jordan caught three passes for 29 yards.
Spain Park will return to action next Friday, when it hosts 6A Muscle Shoals in its home opener.
“I was proud of our kids. We made a million mistakes, but the kids fought, and that’s all you can ask from them this time of the year,” Raney said.