Jags finish off season with 5th straight win
HOOVER – A big-time play late in the second quarter summarized Spain Park High School’s season.
Long before the final game of the 2023 season ended with Spain Park 39, Pelham 0 at Jaguar Stadium on Thursday, the longest play of the night was the key. And the 91-yard play wasn’t even in the Jaguars’ favor.
Pelham freshman quarterback Dylan Smith heaved the ball from his own 3-yard line to Cortez Tolbert, who hauled it in and appeared to be headed for paydirt. A Spain Park defender had fallen but was able to get up and chase Tolbert down at the 6-yard line. Down 7-0 at the time, a gain of 91 yards was huge for Pelham. Momentum quickly shifted. Three plays later, however, a Pelham fumble was recovered by the Jaguars’ Nik Alston. Spain Park scored 10 seconds later on an 81-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Brock Bradley to senior wide receiver Jonathan Bibbs.
More than allowing a 91-yard gain, even more than scoring on an 81-yard pass a few plays later, that chase sort of defines Spain Park’s 2023 season. There was adversity early. There was drama late. There were 33.8 points per game, the highest average in program history. There were seven wins in one season, when the previous three seasons combined there were only nine.
“Little things like that matter,” Spain Park head coach Tim Vakakes said following the game. “I tell our kids all the time that leadership and culture change leaves clues behind. Be a man that leaves clues behind. And that’s a little clue that tells us we’re on the right track. That just shows the fight of our kids, and it meant something to him to get up and chase, to keep them off the scoreboard. He got beat but he didn’t give up. Little things like that show us and our community that things are moving forward. Coaches don’t change programs. We think we do. We think we’re smart. We call these plays and schemes. Kids change programs. This senior class was the reason that the needle moved this year.”
Spain Park (7-3) got its first score on a 75-yard touchdown from Bradley to Bibbs, who finished with five catches for 200 yards and two scores. The Jaguars poured it on in the second half. Senior running back Derick Shanks scored from 3 yards out to put Spain Park up 19-0, then Bradley found junior wideout Reggie Jackson for an 18-yard touchdown to go up 26-0. An Arnold Bush interception got the ball back for the Jaguars three plays later, and Dakarai Shanks matched his brother with a 3-yard scoring run to take a 32-0 lead.
The final touchdown, as so many are in season finales when the benches empty and a glimpse of the future is seen, came when freshman running back C.J. Cowley punched in a 14-yard touchdown run, capping a seven-play drive in which he ran the ball six times for 55 yards.
For Pelham (5-5), Smith finished 10-of-20 for 130 yards and an interception. He threw for only 7 yards in the second half. Junior running back Kalib Porter rushed 13 times for 60 yards, and senior Michael Grayson added 43 yards on nine carries. Tolbert led the receiving corps with 95 yards on three receptions. Kameron May recorded an interception on defense.
For Spain Park, Bradley was 9-of-19 for 237 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Derick Shanks finished with 14 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown. Dakarai Shanks rushed for 73 yards and a score on 13 carries. Jackson caught two passes for 28 yards and a touchdown.
The Spain Park defense allowed just 71 total yards in the second half and 227 total in the game.
“Whenever you have a defense playing that gives up zero points, that means they care,” Vakakes said. “They care about each other. When you get zero on the board, they care about each other.”
The seven wins are the most Spain Park has had since it won eight games in 2016. The future?
“It’s bright,” Vakakes said. “You’ve got to redo it. We’re just going to have to keep being consistent. We’re going to keep pushing the needle and hopefully we’re going to compete for championships here.”
That push for future championships will begin Monday, when players are back in the weight room, a Vakakes staple. But before the future becomes the focus, the present will get its due. After the on-field postgame hoopla settled, when iPhones stopped taking photos and black-clad football players were done hugging family in the November cold, Vakakes said he’d tell the senior class two words.
Thank you.
“I thank them for caring about Spain Park, for caring about each other,” he said. “They moved the needle, and this group is always going to go down as the one that moved the needle.”