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Spain Park put the finishing touches on its first undefeated regular season in school history as the Jags capitalized on big defensive plays to pull away from Gardendale on offense. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

Larry Dancy

By SARAH TURNER | Special to the Reporter

GARDENDALE – The Spain Park Jaguars capped off their magical regular season run with a 35-12 win over the Gardendale Rockets on Friday, Nov. 1 at Gardendale High School.

“Anytime you get a bunch of high school kids that do hard things consistently and they play for each other, good things happen,” Spain Park head coach Tim Vakakes said.

For the first time in school history, the Jaguars ended the season unblemished with a perfect 10-0 record.

Gardendale was celebrating their senior night as well as vying for a spot in the playoffs. They entered the matchup 5-4 and came out swinging.

The Rockets got on the board first with a 40-yard field goal from kicker Ryan McPherson with 9:52 left in the first quarter and converted a first down on a fake field goal attempt on their next offensive drive.

Gardendale opted for another field goal, but Spain Park’s defense shut down the attempt with a block to close out the first quarter.

The lethal duo of Spain Park juniors, quarterback Brock Bradley and wideout Corey Barber, seemed to start the game out of rhythm.

Bradley tried to hit Barber deep three times in the first half, but the opportunities came up short with overthrown balls or mishandled catches.

Spain Park’s first offensive drive of the second quarter ended with a missed field goal that bounced off the uprights.

Even though the Jags air raid wasn’t firing early like fans are used to seeing, their ground game made up for it.

On what seemed to be a dead drive, Spain Park got lucky when Gardendale jumped offside on its punt attempt. From there, senior Dakarai Shanks and sophomore CJ Cowley traded touches all the way to the 1-yard line.

Bradley ultimately punched it in for the Jags’ first score of the night, making the score 7-3 with 2:26 left to play in the first half.

Spain Park needed to get its struggling offense back on the field before the half in order to build more of a buffer on its slim lead, which meant a defensive stop was crucial.

And as they have all season, Spain Park’s concrete defense came up with a recovered fumble deep in Rockets territory from junior defensive end Ethan Boykin.

Immediately after getting the ball back, Bradley and Barber were back like they never left, connecting on a 28-yard touchdown pass, bringing the Jags up 14-3 with 1:38 left in the first half.

A sack for the Spain Park defense and two big catches from Barber seemed to show that momentum was back on the Jags’ side going into the half.

To open the second half, Spain Park quickly put up another six points in the form of a Shanks rush to the end zone, increasing the lead to 21-3 with 9:19 left in the third quarter.

And, like clockwork, Spain Park’s defense did what they needed to do, forcing a three-and-out to get Bradley and company back on the field.

Bradley orchestrated another effective drive where the Jags found themselves at the 1-yard line once again.

Cowley punched it in for six more points, with the score coming up to 28-3 with 4:43 left to play in the third quarter.

But the Rockets were ready for liftoff, and senior defensive back Braylon Henry returned the Jags kickoff for 85 yards, giving Gardendale quality field position.

However, the Jags defense held strong once again, and Gardendale only came away from the drive with another field goal, leaving just under three minutes left on the clock in the third quarter.

Spain Park quickly turned in another Cowley touchdown to start the fourth quarter, bringing up their lead to 35-6.

Despite Spain Park’s defensive performance, Gardendale’s freshman tailback Urijah Casey posed a problem for the Jaguars all night, regularly making short gains up the middle.

He finally took one to the house with 6:07 left in the game, cutting into the Jaguars’ lead 35-12 after the denied two-point conversion attempt, but it would be too little too late.

Bradley finished the night 15-of-21 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Barber ended with six receptions, 85 yards, and a touchdown. Shanks and Cowley combined for 23 carries, 161 yards, and three touchdowns.

“It’s something these kids will always remember, but we’ve got to put this to sleep, put this to bed, and get back going on Sunday and do what we do,” Vakakes said.

Spain Park will look to make even more history next week at home in the first round of the 6A playoffs, hosting McGill-Toolen on Friday, Nov. 8.

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