Late touchdown lifts Jags to galvanizing win

TRUSSVILLE – Shawn Raney kept the postgame speech short. 

After a grueling three weeks that saw the Spain Park High School football team suffer disappointing defeats, the Jags head coach wanted his team to enjoy the thrill of victory with the Jags' faithful, the group that watched them pull off a stunning game-winning drive to beat Hewitt-Trussville 31-28 in a Class 7A, Region 3 game on Friday night at Husky Field.

“That’s awesome,” Raney said. “We needed that so bad.”

Hope appeared lost after Hewitt-Trussville scored two touchdowns in the span of 23 seconds late in the fourth quarter to take a 28-24 lead. Sean Jackson exploded through the left side for a 72-yard touchdown run to cut the Huskies deficit to 24-21, and Michael Edwards picked up a fumble and scampered 35 yards to the end zone on the second play of Spain Park’s ensuing drive to give Hewitt the lead.

Raney admitted “there was a moment” on the sideline after the Huskies took the lead, when a young Jags team sensed defeat. They had to overcome it quickly. 

Spain Park (2-3, 1-2 in region) turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, but the Jags defense forced a Hewitt punt and reclaimed possession with 1:57 to play.

“I went to (quarterback Harrison) Barker and said, ‘Man, just keep playing and this is going to make you a hero,’” Raney recalled.

Barker led the Spain Park offense from its own 19-yard line down the field, completing four passes in the first five plays of the drive, including a fourth-down conversion on a 31-yard pass to Michael Callens. Callens would make two more big receptions on the drive, setting the Jags up on the 17-yard line with under 30 seconds to play.

That’s when Jaylen Ward came up big. Ward caught an 8-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Jags a 24-14 lead, but after the consecutive Huskies touchdowns, the Jags needed him to come through again.

On second down, Barker’s pass floated toward the back corner of the end zone. Ward forced just enough separation from his defender to haul in the pass, get a foot down inbounds and clutch the ball for dear life as he went to the ground, giving Spain Park the lead with 14 seconds to go.

“That was amazing. That was great,” Callens said of Ward's reception. “I told him before the pass, ‘I need you,’ and he came through.”

Barker finished the night completing 23-of-41 passes for 187 yards and the two touchdowns.

Spain Park opened the game with a touchdown, marching 66 yards in 14 plays and scoring on a 12-yard run from Callens, who came up with several big plays in the running and passing game all night. He finished the game with 61 yards rushing and 88 yards receiving.

“He fought the whole game,” Raney said of his running back.

Raney said that early touchdown gave the Jags some needed confidence, as they took a 17-7 lead into halftime on the strength of a 1-yard Austin Hutcheson touchdown run and a 39-yard Drake Tabor field goal in the second quarter.

Hewitt-Trussville (3-2, 1-2 in region) scored on its first drive of the game, capping off an 80-yard drive with Clint Simpson’s 3-yard run to tie the game at 7-7. 

But the Huskies offense struggled following the opening touchdown, with Spain Park’s Pierson Cole intercepting a pass on Hewitt’s next drive, followed by three empty possessions ahead of the half. Penalties were the biggest defender of the Huskies all night.

“Too many penalties,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said. “We were behind the sticks the entire night. It’s tough for an offense. We’re beat up right now. It wasn’t about guys being beat up, it was about penalties. It’s hard to overcome that.”

Hewitt quarterback Cade Carruth was injured late in the second quarter, but he returned. But a Spain Park hit midway through the fourth quarter forced him from the game for the duration. Sophomore Jackson Holland stepped in both times.

Both Hewitt quarterbacks played well. Carruth completed 14-of-17 passes for 170 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dazalin Worsham in the third quarter. Holland ran for 60 yards on seven attempts.

“I was really proud of Jackson. He came in, did a great job and ran really hard,” Floyd said. 

Sean Jackson earned nearly half of his rushing yards on the 72-yard sprint and finished the night with 145 yards on 10 carries. Simpson concluded the evening with 20 yards rushing. Worsham was the leading receiver for the Huskies, finishing with 108 yards on 11 grabs.

Worsham even contributed as a cornerback late in the fourth quarter.

“Our kids are tough, they’re not going to quit. They’re going to keep competing,” Floyd said.

But this night belonged to Spain Park. Raney held back prideful tears as he spoke of the perseverance of his squad.

“It’s been an incredible week for a lot of things and to see us fight after what we’ve been through, people talking bad about us and pointing fingers,” Raney said. “They did not give up on their coaches and teammates, and that’s very rewarding. It’s why we do this. I start to forget why I do this and now I remember. 

“I’m so happy.”

Next week, Spain Park takes its bye week, while Hewitt-Trussville travels to Huffman for a non-region contest.

Click here to purchase photos from the game.