By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

Spain Park was four points away from finishing second in Class 7A, Region 3 a season ago, but instead a triple overtime loss by one point to Mountain Brook and a three-point loss to Hoover in the final minute led to fourth-place finish in the region.

A big reason for that was the 25.4 points per game the defense gave up last season, which was the worst of the Shawn Raney era, and marked just the second time in Raney’s five years that the Jaguars had given up more than 20 points per game in a season.

In 2014, Spain Park gave up 23.8 points per game and finished 6-4, while the Jags finished 6-5 this past season. In Raney’s other three years, the defense gave up less than 20 points per game and won at least eight games in each of those seasons, including a 12-2 season with a state championship game in 2015.

You may wonder why I’m spending so much time harping on the defense, well here is your answer.

It’s pretty obvious that Raney’s teams are most successful when they have a good defense. Well, this year, the head coach sounds extremely excited about what he has on the defensive side of the ball.

In a difficult region featuring four top 10 teams, including the Jags at No. 8, defense may just be the difference maker in a playoff team and a region champion.

While Spain Park’s offense will obviously be important, we’ll start on the defensive side in this year’s prediction.

Up front, it may not seem like the Jags will have a lot back with the loss of Blake Hester and Robert Cook who combined for 124 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks, but Raney is confident in the unit.

The main reason for that confidence is the return of three-year starter Cedric Tooson, who has improved each of the last two years and is primed for a monster senior season.

Joining him will be Josh Wallace, who also has three years of experience, as well as Josh Moates. It’s a unit that will be fast and athletic with guys who can play on both the defensive line or at linebacker.

There are still players battling to earn spots at linebacker in fall practice, but Moates and Wallace will both play there as well, while Kenyon Hines, who is a receiver as well, is too talented not to play at the position throughout the season as well.

Senior Dre Robinson will add some experience to the position and is a guy Raney is excited to see. Behind that, there are four upperclassmen and several younger players ready to add depth or find a starting spot.

The secondary is what brings the entire defense together with three starters returning to lead the unit. Braxton Hall, who had 34 tackles and three interceptions last year, will be the leader at the position and will be joined by Kishawn Dawsey and Demillion Simms. Junior Colton Ledbetter will be the new face to the group after playing some at linebacker last year, but he’ll be a trustworthy player at safety and is possibly the best athlete on the team.

Last year, Raney expressed concern about the defense going into the season, but this year, he was extremely excited when talking about them, which shows his confidence.

Offensively, the Jaguars will lose a lot of talent at each skill position with its quarterback gone as well as its best running back and wide receiver.

With Braxton Barker now gone after throwing for 2,410 yards, the Jaguars will turn the reins over to senior Mason Pronk at quarterback. Raney has plenty of confidence in him to run the offense since he spent time under Barker and has been part of the program for a long time.

Jalen Henderson looks to become the next big thing at running back for the Jags this season, as they seemingly have one of the best backs in the area year in and year out.

Henderson has a lot of natural ability and will be a feature part of the offense this year bringing back 579 yards and three touchdowns from his time spent as a backup last season.

Out wide, Hines, who was also mentioned as a linebacker, will be the go-to receiver this year. Standing at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, he is a fast and athletic playmaker who can go up and get any ball thrown his way. He’ll be joined primarily by Cameron McDaniel, a speedy track athlete, but behind that, it will be up to several juniors looking to make a name for themselves.

The biggest thing that will help a first-year starter at quarterback, as well as an offense that may need time to grow, is a solid offensive line featuring four seniors.

William Mote, Josh Mullins, Cameron Young and Zac Shaw all have experience as a starter on the offensive or defensive line, and will be trustworthy in protecting Pronk. Several others are getting opportunities to earn a spot as well.

Prediction: Spain Park can’t waste time this year. The Jags have to get off to a fast start. Why, you ask? Their first two region games against Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook on Sept. 7 and Sept. 14, respectively, will be key in determining their postseason spot. They’ll have chances against Hewitt-Trussville, Thompson and Hoover, showing last year they could compete against Hewitt, in the playoffs, and Hoover, in the regular season; but those three are considered to be three of the best in the state.

If Spain Park was somehow to lose all three, then those two games against Vestavia and Mountain Brook will be very important, as well as a road matchup with Oak Mountain on Friday, Oct. 19. Win those three games, and the Jags will be in the postseason. I see them getting off to a 4-0 start to the season, but how the Jags fare after that is up to them with Hewitt, Tompson and Hoover being their next three games, followed by Oak Mountain. I see a 7-3 regular season for the Jags as of now.