Spain Park falls in historic first flag football state championship game to Central-Phenix City

Published 6:54 pm Wednesday, December 4, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – While the Spain Park Jaguars fell short of their ultimate goal of a state championship, they walked out of Protective Stadium with their heads held high after making history.

Spain Park fell 55-7 to the Central Red Devils out of Phenix City in the Class 6A/7A Flag Football State Championship Game on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The game capped a landmark season for the Jags as they made their first state championship game just four seasons after starting the program, becoming the first team from Shelby County to play for a flag football state title.

“Just really proud to be here, thankful for the opportunity, thankful to the AHSAA and certainly the Atlanta Falcons for jump-starting this program,” Spain Park coach Carmen Starr said. “It means a lot for these female athletes to have an opportunity to be on a team, to know what it’s like to be a teammate, those are things that are life serving and it’s a lot bigger than just the sport, but it’s so awesome for these ladies to have this kind of experience, and we’re just very appreciative.”

After the Jags punted to start the game, Central struck on its first offensive play of the game with a 41-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead.

Confusion in the Spain Park backfield led to another failed third down and a punt, and the Red Devils quickly capitalized with a 3-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 14-0 with two and a half minutes remaining in the first.

After taking a couple of big punches to open the game, the Jags got a little bit of offensive momentum going with a third-and-1 conversion pass to Chenelle Hunter before quarterback Jenna Kate Hutchison hit Rory Payton for a 16-yard pass to the Central 32.

Then, Hutchinson dropped a 32-yard dime to Amber Mangina for a touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter. Spain Park got the ensuing 1-point conversion to cut the deficit in half to 14-7.

That was the only trip to the end zone for the Jags as Central scored 41 unanswered points to pull away for the win.

Spain Park did continue building off its momentum after the touchdown with an interception from Mangina to set up a goal-to-go situation for the offense. However, the Jags threw a pick on their next drive to end the chance to tie up the game.

The Red Devils then got 70 yards down the field with multiple big passing plays capped off by a 17-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 21-7 with three minutes remaining until halftime.

Central’s pass coverage continued to cause problems for the Spain Park attack with multiple interceptions to flip the field. The Red Devils added two more touchdowns before halftime to make the lead 34-7 heading into the break.

Central continued to pour on the points in the third quarter with a pair of 40-plus yard touchdowns through the air to grow the advantage to 48-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Then, the Red Devils finished off the win with a 2-yard touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the game, and once the two-minute warning hit, the officials called off the game and sealed Central’s second-straight state title.

Hutchison finished the game 14-of-33 for 136 yards and a touchdown. Payton and Mangina were the two top receivers with 40 yards each, with Payton’s coming off five catches and Mangina’s off two.

Mangina also led the defense with six flag pulls, and Jordan Weiner and Jedaiah Bibbs each secured three flag pulls.

After the game, Starr said she welcomed the challenge of facing the best team in the country and was glad to have gotten better as a result of taking on a big challenge on a big stage.

“Truthfully, I would say I kind of thrive on it. We get much more out of playing a tough team and a competitive team,” Starr said. “It’s a lot better for us. I can watch that and adjust things and change things. That team’s a great team, well-deserved number one ranking. And we prepared as best we could. Matchups just are a lot tougher for us on that side of the ball. But I would never back down from playing the No. 1 team in the country because I know my team is only going to improve and get better from that.”

Payton has been with the program since its inception and has seen the team grow leaps and bounds since it started, gaining 20 new players this season alone while the existing players grow more accustomed to playing at a championship level.

“It’s been amazing,” Payton said. “When I first came to trials in eighth grade and I met both of the Starrs, I thought they were incredible and I knew that they were perfect coaches for what this program needed. And so, just to see how many people care about it now and how many girls we had out this year compared to us barely even being able to play 7v7 at practice has really showed me lots of things, and I’m so happy that it’s growing.”

The growth hasn’t just occurred in the roster, but in the on-field success as well. Starr pointed to Spain Park’s improvement over the years, now getting to a point where they can compete for a state championship and have players go to college to play flag football.

Now, the Jags are at the forefront of a national surge of girls flag football, and their goal now is to turn this first state championship appearance into the program’s annual standard.

“I think the growth for sure, the recognition is there, but also our team’s success,” Starr said. “We were 7-4 the first two years, 12-2 last year, this year, certainly making it this far. But our growth and our success and our development has absolutely lent to my senior last year, my senior quarterback was our first flag football college commit who is playing D-III at Huntington now. Especially when females and athletes understand that there’s an opportunity for them at the next level, the growth is really just going to be substantial across the country now.”

More Spain Park

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Spain Park stifles John Carroll in tangle at Thompson Thanksgiving Invitational

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