Jags win in OT on Gray's field goal

Crosby Gray is the best. Don't believe us. Believe his coach.

Gray's 27-yard field goal in overtime lifted the Spain Park Jaguars to a 31-28 overtime victory over Hewitt-Trussville at Husky Stadium on  Friday night in a pivotal early-season Class 7A, Region 3 game.

Spain Park’s dust-up with Hewitt-Trussville was not the same high-scoring shootout as it was last season.

Limited to a single overtime period, neither team eclipsed the 60-point barrier, as both did in Hewitt-Trussville’s 64-63 quadruple-overtime victory in 2014.  

Nevertheless, the two-team slugfest was filled with drama, ending on the second official play of overtime when Gray’s game-winning field goal cemented the Jags' (4-1, 3-0) road victory.

“It’s just all the work we put in and stuff after losing this game last year,” Spain Park coach Shawn Raney said. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling. I’m so proud of these kids and just how they keep fighting.”

Although the Huskies (3-2, 2-1) took the field first in overtime, their drive ended before it even started. Quarterback Zac Thomas had his pass intercepted by Jags linebacker Houston Hollis on the first play from scrimmage, dashing the Huskies' scoring opportunity.

With the Jags taking over possession on the opposing 10-yard line, the starting spot for all overtime periods, Raney immediately chose to send his sure-footed kicker out on the field.

“We’ve got one of the best kickers in the state. I wasn’t going to risk anything,” Raney said. “I just told him I knew he’d make it. I’ve got total faith in him.”

Gray, as he’s done throughout the season, including two weeks ago in a clutch five-field goal performance against Thompson, came through.

“It’s the most amazing feeling just being able to fight hard with my guys,” Gray said, “over the summer, over the offseason, everything, just to help them win.”

Although the final score didn’t reach the point total produced by even one of the two teams in last season’s contest, the game got off to a quick start and initially showed signs of turning into a high-scoring affair.  

Hewitt-Trussville jumped out of the gates early and opened the scoring just 1:36 in to the first quarter. The Huskies drove 80 yards on four plays, largely due to a 61-yard pass completion from Thomas to wide receiver Noah Igbinoghene on the game’s opening play. Hewitt running back Jarrion Street, an Ole Miss commitment, capped the drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown.

Following the Huskies' opening score, Spain Park produced touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, gaining a 21-7 edge with 28 seconds left in the first quarter. Running back Wade Streeter rushed for a pair of touchdowns, and quarterback Joey Beatty delivered a 21-yard strike to wide receiver Bridge Suber. On the passing touchdown, Beatty eluded a sack by bouncing off a Husky defender and then used his feet to escape the pocket before finding Suber in the end zone.

The Huskies then responded to the Jags offensive attack by scoring two touchdowns of their own to close out the first half.  

Hewitt capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Thomas on fourth-and-goal to cut the Jags lead to 21-14. The Huskies reached the end zone again with 16 seconds to play in the second quarter when Thomas connected with Igbinoghene on a 19-yard touchdown pass, capping an 11-play, 82-yard drive kept alive by a key conversion on fourth-and-10 with just under a minute to go.

The touchdown sent the teams to the halftime locker room with the score knotted at 21-21.

After a scoreless third quarter, Streeter punched the ball into the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the 1-yard line with 10:08 remaining for his third touchdown of the night. Streeter was initially halted by the Huskies defense, but a facemask penalty gave the Jags another shot at their fourth-down attempt.

Hewitt-Trussville tied the game back up just over two minutes later on an 8-yard touchdown run that ended in Street lunging over the pylon.

Neither team was able to score in the final 7:52, propelling the game into overtime and setting up Gray’s second game-winning field goal of the season.

“It’s huge for our confidence because we’ve lost a couple of these games that are killers, including a year ago tonight,” Raney said. “I just see us getting better, and I see it on tape, I see it in practice.  If we can continue to do that, we’ve got some kids that are good players and I’m just anxious to see how far we can go.”