Spain Park dominates Calera for first region title since 2015

Published 11:16 pm Friday, October 18, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By SARAH TURNER | Special to the Reporter

HOOVER – The Spain Park Jaguars left no doubt as they solidified their spot at the top of the region on Friday, Oct. 18 with a 42-7 win over the Calera Eagles.

“Our kids have gotten our program so far in three seasons,” Jaguars head coach Tim Vakakes said. “When we got here, we told them we’re going to compete for championships.”

Spain Park celebrated their seniors before kickoff, and the Jags had a lot on the line, including extending their seven-game win streak, as well as securing the Region 3 title.

Calera went winless in 2023, and the Eagles entered the Friday night matchup on a two-game win streak, coming off of their third win of the season.

The Jags owned the first quarter. On the first play of the game, junior quarterback Brock Bradley connected with junior wideout Corey Barber for a 70-yard touchdown.

The Clemson commit would then find Barber for two more scores, bringing the score up to 21-0 to enter the second quarter.

Spain Park’s defense was also on lockdown during the first quarter, sacking Calera’s senior quarterback AJ Johnson on back-to-back plays, and later, Hagen Holley got an interception to keep the momentum going.

The Eagles might’ve been down, but they weren’t out just yet. AJ Johnson hit sophomore wideout Jaylon Moore for a 54-yard bomb to bring the score up to 21-7 with 10:22 left to play in the first half.

After trading drives, Spain Park came up with a big stop on fourth down, coming in the form of a sack by junior defensive end Ethan Boykin with 5:22 left to play in the second quarter.

The Jags quickly took advantage of this opportunity. Sophomore running back CJ Cowley took a house call all the way in from the 40-yard line. Calera was now looking at another 21-point deficit with 4:18 left in the half.

Spain Park followed that up with one more score to close out the first half. Senior wide receiver Mitchell Frazer snagged a toss in the end zone, bringing the score to 35-7.

After a wild first down from the Eagles where time seemed to expire to end the half and Spain Park started running back into the locker room, the referees added one more second on the clock.

With one more chance for Calera to get themselves back into the game before the half, Johnson was sacked by junior linebacker Nathan Byrd and senior defensive end Zach Erickson.

Spain Park stepped off the gas during the second half. Brock Bradley’s night was finished, and freshman quarterback Nash Davis would line up under center for the third quarter.

Calera’s offense still had some life left, with a big fourth down conversion with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

This was followed by another sack from the Jags defense, this time by junior middle linebacker EJ Kerley.

Spain Park’s offense continued to be stagnant for the third quarter with two straight three-and-outs from Davis and company.

For their last score of the night, senior defensive tackle Landon Johnson wanted something special.

Vakakes said that Johnson asked earlier in the week to get the chance to score if the Jaguars got within the 5-yard line, so they worked on the play this week.

“It took him a minute to get to the goal line, but he got there,” Vakakes said. “Kids like him, they’ve given so much of themselves to this program.”

Johnson punched it in for a final score of 42-7 with 7:55 left to play in the game.

Senior quarterback Eli Smallwood took the field later in the fourth quarter to close out the game, kneeling down and sealing the deal for the region champions’ last home game.

“We do what we do, there’s a standard of how hard we’re going to work and how tough we’re going to be,” Vakakes said.

The Jaguars duo of Bradley and Barber has been larger than life all season. Bradley finished the night 9-for-13 for 205 yards and four touchdowns. Barber had 140 yards and four receptions on the evening, three of which were touchdowns.

Spain Park will be on the road next week to face the Chilton County Tigers, and Calera will host the Helena Huskies on Friday, Oct. 25.

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