Jags ride fast start to victory
HOOVER -- The Spain Park High School football team may have found its stride a little late for playoff contention, but it has found it nonetheless.
Running back Jalen Henderson and quarterback Mason Pronk both accounted for three touchdowns as the Jaguars started fast and held on for a 42-21 victory Friday over Tuscaloosa County.
Spain Park dominated the first half, scoring the first four touchdowns of the game while holding the Wildcats to just 12 yards on their first three drives.
The game-opening drive was capped with a 14-yard scoring run by Henderson, and then the Jags scored again on the first play of their next possession with a Pronk pass to David Moultry for 62 yards.
Barely five minutes had ticked off the clock, and the hosts were up by two touchdowns on homecoming.
“We’ve just been trying to score a lot of points fast," Henderson said. "That’s something we struggled with early in the season."
The Jaguars followed up in the second quarter with another Henderson touchdown, this time on a dive from the 1-yard line, and Pronk added another score when he ran in from the 6.
All the while, County had only one play in which it gained more than 10 yards. But the Cats finally found a breakthrough in the last two minutes of the first half, when they started a possession with a short field at the Jags 33 and drove it in on a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Brylan Jackson.
Spain Park wasted no time after intermission, as it went up by three touchdowns on the first play of its opening drive of the second half. Pronk found wide receiver Kameron McDaniel open for an 85-yard strike.
Henderson completed his hat trick with a 13-yard scramble for his third TD with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats added two late touchdowns on Jackson passes, one to Cedric Williams for 26 yards and the other to Garrison Estes from 12 yards.
For most of the contest, Spain Park’s defense kept Jackson in check. Linebacker Richard Moses led the squad with three solo tackles and three assists. Josh Wallace and Jake Horton each recorded quarterback sacks.
Pronk led the Jaguars ground game with 122 yards on 16 carries, while Henderson gained 95 yards on 18 rushes. Pronk was 8-of-9 in passing for 217 yards, with Moultry catching four passes for 95 yards plus McDaniel’s lone 85-yard reception.
It’s been a tough grind for Spain Park (3-6, 2-5 Class 7A Region 3) as it fought through a schedule against some of the state’s top teams. But a six-game losing streak has given way to a winning run of two games, after last week’s win at Oak Mountain.
More importantly, it provides head coach Shawn Raney’s team something good to finish with.
“That’s what I challenged them to do. I think we keep improving, and that’s what I asked the kids to do,” Raney said. “It’s hard to do with what we’ve been through, but couldn’t be prouder of our coaches and our kids. They haven’t checked it in at all, and they’ve enjoyed the time we’ve had together.”
The Jaguars finish their season next Thursday at Shades Valley.