Jags thump Tuscaloosa County, secure playoff berth
The last time Bart Sessions coached in Jaguar Stadium he helped the Spain Park High School football team clinch a spot in the state final.
His return as Tuscaloosa County’s first-year head coach didn’t go nearly as well.
Spurred by a forceful rushing attack and stingy defense, the Jags thumped their former defensive coordinator’s Wildcats 35-0 on Friday night in a lopsided 7A, Region 3 matchup. The win secured Spain Park (6-2, 4-2 in region) a playoff berth.
“It’s big just to know that we’re in,” Jags head coach Shawn Raney said. “I thought we had to come out and execute when we were supposed to tonight, and I felt like they did that on both sides of the ball.”
The Jags took control from the start.
Spain Park scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions and jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead. Tuscaloosa County (2-7, 0-6), meanwhile, struggled to get anything going offensively.
The Wildcats operated on their own side of the field for most of the night and were limited to 185 yards of total offense. As a result, Spain Park earned its first shutout of the season.
Jags defensive back Jack Connell, who snatched a second-quarter interception, said his squad has demonstrated continual improvement since its loss to Mountain Brook on Sept. 16.
“We’ve gotten better and better each week,” Connell said,” just getting ready for the playoffs pretty much and taking it one game at a time.”
Connell’s interception five minutes before halftime set up a three-play scoring drive that Jags running back D’arie Johnson capped with an 11-yard touchdown rush around left end. The score, which was Johnson’s second of the night, put Spain Park up 28-0.
Earlier in the half, Johnson found the end zone from 5 yards out to make it 14-0. Larry Wooden scored Spain Park’s two other first-half touchdowns on rushes of 2 and 4 yards.
On the night, the Jags racked up 206 yards rushing and 361 yards of total offense.
“Our offensive line blocked really well,” Raney said. “We’re down two linemen – two starters – and some young kids have stepped in. They struggled a little bit last week, but with a week of practice I thought they did a lot better tonight.”
Wooden, who was honored during Spain Park’s pregame senior night ceremony, added his team's final touchdown early in the third quarter on a 5-yard run. He finished the game with 76 yards rushing, 48 yards receiving and three TDs.
“It rebuilds the confidence, reminds you how good you can be,” Wooden said of his performance. “Hopefully next game we can do the same thing.”
Johnson would most likely agree. The junior tallied 66 yards on eight carries and went for two touchdowns. In addition to Wooden and Johnson, sophomore Jalen Henderson saw considerable playing time at running back. He finished with 59 yards on 12 carries.
Through the air, quarterbacks Hunter Howell and Braxton Barker combined to go 15-of-16 passing. Howell was 11 of 11 for 112 yards, and Barker was 4 of 5 for 43 yards.
Spain Park will return to action next Friday when it takes on Oak Mountain at Heardmont Park.
“Next week will be a huge game for us,” Raney said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do to finish the season out.”