Jaguars spoil Minor's hopes for unbeaten season
ADAMSVILLE — Spain Park High School’s football team knew all about Minor’s high-powered offense. The undefeated Tenacious Tigers, ranked third in Class 6A in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, had an average of more than 52 points a game, and never scored fewer than 45 in their nine regular-season contests.
That all ended Thursday night at Tony Lunceford Field, as the Class 7A No. 7 Jaguars put up their highest score of the season with a 52-42 win, ending Minor’s hopes of an unbeaten season.
The two teams were on nearly even terms in the first half, with the visitors enjoying a 2-point lead at the break. But two quick Jags touchdowns in the first minute after halftime turned the momentum in their favor.
Damarius Farmer ran the opening kickoff back 92 yards for a score. Then 32 seconds later, Larry Wooden capitalized on an interception by Rayfe Richey, running 38 yards on the next play for a touchdown — one of four he scored for the night.
The two scores put Spain Park ahead 38-22, and the teams traded touchdowns the rest of the way, with the home team staying just close enough to keep within shouting distance.
Minor’s game plan usually features a very fast tempo of play, with short passes to receivers Jaylond Adams and Delonte Evans to put the defense on its heels and keep the clock running. But the Jaguar defense slowed that tempo down considerably, limiting the Tigers’ effectiveness in the air attack.
That was exactly what Spain Park coach Shawn Raney wanted.
“That was the game plan — the more plays they had, the more opportunities they had to make big plays, and we were trying to run the football and play keep-away a little bit. Our offense was able to do that, and that’s a big part of what won this game.”
Adams, whose prodigious stats have attracted attention from colleges such as Illinois, Indiana, UAB and South Alabama, was held to 84 yards on eight catches, but two were for touchdowns. He ran for 70 yards and another score.
The Tigers’ potential to strike back quickly — as they did in their 48-point comeback in the second half against Walker a week earlier — made Raney a bit nervous.
“As a defensive coach, I don’t like those kind [of games],” he said. “But I kind of thought it was going to be that way. We gave them some short fields…. We got a little tired on defense, but our kids kept playing, and we got some stops. The 2-point conversion stops were big.”
Minor always goes for two points after a touchdown, and was successful three out of six times Thursday.
Spain Park’s normally-potent rushing game was even more so against the Tigers, gaining 344 yards total and 7.5 yards per play. D’Aire Johnson ran for 232 yards on 25 attempts (9.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns, while Wooden gained 121 yards on 20 carries; he also caught six passes for 67 yards.
“I thought that having one come out and the other go in fresh kind of wore their defense down,” Raney said.
Braxton Barker played quarterback the entire game and was nearly perfect in passing, going 11-of-12 for 129 yards. His lone mistake was an interception.
Kicker Cole Starr was 7-for-7 on point-after kicks, and booted a 26-yard field goal.
Defensively for the Jags, linebacker Houston Hollis led the way with five solo tackles and three assists. Farmer also had a sack and an interception. Lineman Jacob Pughsley had three tackles and two assists, and was credited with half a sack and 1½ tackles for loss.
Spain Park (8-2) will head northward for their first-round playoff game next week, to play at James Clemens. Minor (9-1) won their region and will host Homewood next week.