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The Spain Park Jaguars used the lessons of the Tim Vakakes era to stand tall in the final minutes and earn a statement win over Hoover, its first since 2015. (For the Reporter/Kelsea Schafer)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – As the Hoover Buccaneers marched down the field and retook a 37-33 lead over the Spain Park Jaguars with 2:23 left, it looked like it may be the same story as the last nine meetings: another Hoover victory.

However, Spain Park had a different ending in mind.

Brock Bradley drove the Jags down the field and found Corey Barber to take the lead, and the defense stopped the Bucs on fourth down on the ensuing drive to seal the 39-37 win on the road at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

With students storming the field and every person in blue and black embracing and celebrating, it was a sight that hadn’t been seen since October 2015, the last time that Spain Park beat its crosstown rival Hoover.

Jags head coach Tim Vakakes wasn’t concerned about the previous chapters. He was focused on the new one that was written on Aug. 30, 2024.

“I don’t know when the last time they won it. I’m not worried about that,” Vakakes said. “A lot of that big streak was back in early 2000’s when Spain Park was new and Hoover was rolling with Rush Propst and all that era, so a lot of that streak was back then. But it’s a new day on Jaguar Drive. I don’t care about streaks.”

That new day was marked by the toughness of the Spain Park players who withstood Hoover’s best shots and responded.

In the end, the Jags found a way to win off that heart and grit, and Vakakes is proud of his team because of that.

“We had guys cramping. We had guys hurt, guys out. I told them the toughest team’s going to figure out a way. That’s exactly what they did,” Vakakes said. “I love these guys, man. I love these coaches. I’m really blessed. I’m blessed to be where I am because we’re surrounded by a lot of great people.”

Spain Park had to show that toughness throughout the game as it faced a stiff challenge from the Bucs from the opening kickoff.

The Hoover offense looked to be in control to start the game as Mac Beason scrambled for a third down conversion that got the Bucs going down the field. Beason put an exclamation mark on the drive with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Avery Johnson that put Hoover up 6-0 with 8:02 left in the first.

The Bucs did their part on defense to continue the strong start with a three-and-out to regain the ball.

However, the tide quickly turned after Christian Smith strip-sacked Beason and Aden Walker fell on the ball to recover it.

On the ensuing drive, Bradley got the passing game going with his running back doing much of the heavy lifting. The Clemson commit launched a deep pass to Cowley, who caught it at the 19.

Shortly after, the Jags got tricky as Bradley threw a lateral to Mitchell Frazer, and the receiver found Cowley diving in the back corner of the end zone to take the 7-6 lead with just under two minutes left in the quarter.

Things quickly worsened for Hoover after it muffed the ensuing kickoff and Spain Park recovered it on the Bucs 21.

Bradley quickly capitalized with a 17-yard rainbow to Connor Grebb in stride on the left sideline, and the Jags extended their lead to 14-6.

Spain Park’s defense then stepped up as the second quarter began and forced a punt to give it back to Bradley and the offense.

Bradley made the short pass to Barber up the middle, and Barber turned on the jets for an 87-yard touchdown, making it two straight weeks with a score to start the season and putting the Jags up 20-6 with 9:29 left in the half.

Spain Park’s defense then did its job on third-and-3 as the secondary defended a deep throw to the left sideline, but the Bucs bounced back when Beason converted the fourth down on his legs.

Hoover continued marching down the field and found the end zone again off a goal-line touchdown run from Jabari Mosley Jr. The Jags blocked the extra point to keep the score at 20-12, and Spain Park took that lead into halftime.

The Jags opened the half with a strong drive that saw multiple third down conversions as well as a pre-snap penalty on fourth-and-5 that moved the chains.

However, a pair of Spain Park receivers dropped long passes on the following plays. That forced Bradley to make a lateral pass on fourth down that was quickly stuffed for a turnover on downs.

While Hoover made some progress toward the end zone, the Jags halted that in a big way. Payton Wood intercepted Beason at the 30 and ran all the way down the sideline for the 70-yard pick-six, increasing Spain Park’s lead to 27-12 with 4:32 remaining in the third.

The Bucs continued to will their way to the end zone on the next drive. After an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Jags put Hoover inside the red zone, they ran it in from three yards out to cut the gap to 27-20.

A big mistake near the top of the fourth quarter let the Bucs keep the momentum going as Cowley dropped a pitch from Bradley. Hoover’s defense fell on the ball at midfield and quickly got a 13-yard passing touchdown to tie the game at 27-27 with 10:38 left in the fourth.

The Bucs defense then forced another punt and completed the comeback with a 39-yard field goal to take a 30-27 lead with 5:59 to go.

Needing a big response, Spain Park gave as emphatic of one as possible. Starting at his own 31, Bradley uncorked a 35-yard pass to Barber followed by a 36-yard catch-and-run by Grebb to put the Jags on the 2.

After an offside briefly backed them up, Dakarai Shanks sprinted up the middle for a 6-yard touchdown to retake the lead.

Hoover quickly struck back by blocking the extra point to keep the score at 33-30 with 4:05 left. The Bucs offense then sprinted 59 yards down the field in just over 90 seconds to claim a 37-33 lead and put the Jags on the ropes once again.

That was when Bradley and Barber orchestrated their biggest statement drive of the game in a moment when Spain Park needed it the most.

After a personal foul on the return bumped the Jags up to their own 42, Bradley got out of a fourth-and-11 situation on his feet to extend the drive.

From there, a triple lateral found Barber down at the 9 for a 22-yard catch to set Spain Park up in the red zone.

Hoover stopped Bradley’s first pass to the left corner of the end zone, but it couldn’t stop the ensuing play. Bradley found Barber on the right side of the goal line to complete the 93-second drive with a touchdown.

The Bucs blocked the extra point once again to leave the lead at two and the Jags had to defend a 39-37 lead with 10 seconds to go.

When it needed a stop the most, Spain Park’s defense stood tall for four downs with stops. A pack of Jags took down a scrambling Beason to cap off the drive, force the turnover on downs, and seal the first win over Hoover in nine years.

“That defense was on the field a long time,” Vakakes said. “We had some guys injured, had to go out, had to come back, they said, ‘Just give us one drive,’ and they did. David Bush, defensive staff, did a great job. Our kids made plays all night when it mattered and they figured out a way.”

Barber totaled 220 yards receiving to lead Spain Park’s offense on nine receptions with two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. Bradley finished with 340 yards and three touchdowns to give him more than 580 yards and eight touchdowns through two weeks of the season.

Spain Park will now take a 2-0 start into region play, and after next week’s bye week, the Jags will travel to Helena on Friday, Sept. 13.

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