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The Spain Park Jaguars overcame a stretch where they were outscored 28-3 against McGill-Toolen on Friday night, Nov. 8 to pick up their first playoff win since 2015 in a 44-35 victory. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

HOOVER – Trailing McGill-Toolen 35-24 and having been outscored 28-3 after an early 14-point advantage, the Spain Park Jaguars were on their heels late in the third quarter of their first playoff game since 2017 on Friday, Nov. 8.

That’s when the Jags dug deep, remembering the tough days in the weight room, and buckled down to close out a heavyweight fight victorious.

Spain Park scored 20 unanswered points in the final 12:54 of action to overcome a rough middle portion of the game en route to their first playoff win since the 2015 season by a final score of 44-35.

“They got after our butts. The defense didn’t have its best night, but we talk to our kids all the time about being a heavyweight,” head coach Tim Vakakes said after the win. “Every heavyweight has their favorite punch, but the champions have chins. What we do on a daily basis, week to week, we lifted four days last week, we’re lifting four days next week during a max week. Our kids feed off of that. They don’t panic, they don’t flinch.”

And they certainly didn’t flinch after a rough stretch that saw the Yellow Jackets scored on five consecutive drives, putting the Spain Park defense in dire need of some help.

The Jags went into the half with a slim 24-21 advantage after a 21-7 lead had evaporated, but McGill-Toolen came out of the half and scored on the opening drive to take its first lead of the game.

Sporting four consecutive touchdown drives, the Jackets got the ball back off an interception on the ensuing drive and made it five consecutive touchdowns to gain a 35-24 advantage.

But the Jags’ offense finally found the rhythm they had in an opening quarter that featured 21 points.

It was all sparked by a third-and-9 trick play that saw running back CJ Cowley take a ball on a reverse, faking the double reverse and then throwing the halfback pass to fellow running back Dakarai shanks for a 50-yard play.

Three plays later, Shanks powered his way into the end zone on a powerful third-and-goal run from the 3-yard line.

Now trailing 35-31 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter, the Jags turned their attention to a defensive stop.

With no defensive momentum, the Jaguars forced a third-and-3 that ultimately ended with an incompletion, finally getting the team the stop it needed to get off the field.

From there, momentum completely flipped.

Two minutes later, quarterback Brock Bradley hit talented receiver Corey Barber for a deep 35-yard touchdown pass to allow the Jags to regain the lead at 38-35 with 9:18 to play.

The defense then stepped up again, capitalizing on a third-and-3 holding call from McGill that would have been a first down otherwise. Two big plays after, and the Jags got the ball back up by three with 7:45 to play.

Then came the knockout blow.

Heavy doses of Shanks and Cowley helped the Jags march right down the field to eventually set up a fourth-and-goal decision from the 1.

“There was no doubt we were going for it,” Vakakes said. “Everybody on the field knew what we were running. They were screaming it out. When you get to that point, when the linemen feel that, I heard them screaming weight room from the field. That’s heavyweight football.”

Bradley kept the ball himself, powering into the end zone on the quarterback sneak for the game-clinching score.

A missed PAT left the lead at nine, up 44-35, but the defense had renewed life and came out to force back-to-back sacks that ultimately led to fourth and long and an incomplete pass to ice the game.

“Our kids have come a long way,” an emotional Vakakes said after the game. “They’re used to doing hard things. Our parents allow us to coach them hard, they allow us to push them. They’re not great kids because of the coaches, they’re great kids because they come from great families. I’m blessed to be here. I thank the parents all the time for giving us their sons. We just talk about treating them like our own. I’m proud to be here. We’ve got a good thing going, and I’m just glad we get to get back together on Sunday.” 

Spain Park’s offense came out of the gate firing, which led to big play after big play in a 21-point opening quarter.

The Jags took an early 7-0 lead, utilizing a long third-and-12 pass from Bradley to Barber to set up two powerful runs of 9 combined runs from Cowley and a short touchdown run from Shanks.

The Spain Park defense then forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball right back, and like clockwork, the balanced offensive attack went right back to work.

This time, Cowley propelled the drive with back-to-back runs of 18 and 32 yards, eventually setting up a first-and-goal situation. Cowley then finished the drive off on third-and-goal with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 5:07 remaining in the opening quarter.

McGill-Toolen, however, saw Spain Park’s offense moving the ball and decided it was time to match it.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a powerful 78-yard drive on the ensuing possession, converting a third-and-9 on the drive to eventually set up a score to make it 14-7 late in the quarter.

The hot Spain Park offense, however, had one more score in it in the opening quarter.

Bradley hit Barber once again for 14 yards early in the drive before Shanks reeled off a 30-yard run. Then, two plays later, Mason McClure took an end around to the right, broke through a gap and sprinted 28 yards for the touchdown to take a 21-7 advantage.

McGill’s offense was just getting going, though, and the Jackets had a quick response.

They scored within the first four minutes of the second quarter on a nice drive before getting the ball right back on a Bradley interception and then scoring again to make it 21-21 with 4:17 left in the half.

With momentum swinging McGill’s way with three consecutive scoring possessions, the Jags tried to stop the bleeding just before they half.

They put together a nice drive that saw a huge pass play from Bradley to Barber on second-and-26, eventually setting up a first-and-goal situation.

McGill’s defense did step up and force a field goal, but Josh Tullos nailed a 25-yarder to give Spain Park a 24-21 lead at the break.

The Yellow Jackets continued to feed off of their momentum flip in the second half by storming in front, but that’s when the Jaguars put together their impressive run over the final 13 minutes to close out the win.

Spain Park was led by Shanks with 200 rushing yards and one touchdown on 24 carries, while also contributing 50 yards on the pass from Cowley. Cowley also eclipsed the century mark with 104 yards and a score on 15 carries.

Bradley finished 9-18 for 181 yards and a touchdown, while Barber was the top target in the game with 171 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. McClure added one run for 30 yards and a score, while he totaled nine receiving yards.

Spain Park (11-0) will now carry a 16-game winning streak into a second-round home playoff game against Russell County next week.

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