MUSCLE SHOALS – Spain Park High School rolled, 40-7, over Muscle Shoals on Friday, Sept. 1, in what was expected to be a matchup of two top Class 7A and Class 6A football powers.

Spain Park improves to 2-0 with the win, which was more lopsided than last year’s 35-18 final score at SPHS.

The Jaguars will now begin region play when they visit Vestavia Hills on Sept. 8.

Muscle Shoals falls to 1-1.

SPHS opened the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Braxton Barker to Jalen McMillan and increased the lead to 13-0 with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter on a pass from Barker to Michael Rogers and a Cole Starr point-after.

The host Trojans scored their only points of the game on a 26-yard pass from Ethan Nix to Luke Hornsby.

But McMillan ended the Trojans’ hopes when he returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown with 11:36 on the clock in the second quarter.

Starr added made field goals from 25 yards and 27 yards to make the score 26-7 at halftime.

D’Arie Johnson scored on a 1-yard run with 8:53 left in the third quarter, and the scoring was concluded by Darrian Stringer recovering a Spain Park fumble at the Muscle Shoals 1-yard line and falling into the end zone.

Spain Park outgained Muscle Shoals 329 yards to 193 yards and had 22 first downs to the Trojans’ 11—helped along by four Shoals turnovers.

Barker completed 16 passes in 28 attempts for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

McMillan caught four passes for 80 yards, and Kenyon Hines had five catches for 39 yards.

Henderson rushed for 74 yards on 21 carries, and Johnson had 55 yards on 13 carries.

Blake Hester, Jaden Jenkins and Clay Christian all tied for the team lead with 4.5 tackles.

Robert Cook had 1.5 sacks.