Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – Five years ago, the sport of girls flag football, let alone the Spain Park Jaguars program, did not exist in Alabama. Today, the Jags are one win away from a historic first state championship.

Spain Park held on for a thrilling 33-27 win in overtime over the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at Spain Park High School in the Class 6A/7A semifinals.

The win puts the Jags in the 6A/7A state championship game on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium against USA Today’s top team in the country–Central-Phenix City.

“It’s one of those things that when I took it on four years ago that you kind of hope for and hope that you can develop a program and hope that you can lead it the right way,” Spain Park coach Carmen Starr said. “So, having the first opportunity, being one of the first teams to go get that blue map, God is good.”

Before the Jags could secure the victory though, Hewitt dominated much of the opening two quarters to establish a two-score lead.

The Huskies opened up the scoring with 6:13 left in the first quarter as quarterback Ryleigh Wood launched a 65-yard bomb to Amaurie Pearson to put the visitors up 6-0.

Hewitt then doubled the lead off some quick thinking by Wood as she shot a shuttle pass to Peyton Hull for the goal-line touchdown. Pearson’s 1-point conversion made the lead 13-0 with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter.

Spain Park tried to get some offense going but twice fell victim to the Huskies coverage unit. Erin Coleman and Addie Rutland both grabbed interceptions in the first half to flip the field and keep the Jags scoreless.

However, a breakthrough came with less than three minutes to go until the break.

Spain Park got a stop in its own territory and capitalized on the short field. Jenna Kate Hutchinson found Ja’Skylar Simpson through the air to put the Jags on the board, and Laila Sibley tacked on the 1-point conversion to cut the deficit to 13-7.

That kicked off a frantic final two-minute stretch. Hewitt chipped away at the Jags defense through the air before Wood hit Brecken Phillips for a 35-yard touchdown. The ensuing conversion took the lead back to 13.

Spain Park had one last big play in it before halftime though. Hutchinson found Hunter at the pylon on the final play of the half to make the score 20-13 Huskies going into halftime.

The Jags continued to rally on offense out of the break. Hunter hauled in a one-handed catch on fourth down to score and make it a one-point game at the end of the third quarter.

Then, with 5:32 left in the fourth, Hutchinson punched it in herself to give Spain Park its first lead of the game. Hunter tacked on the 2-point conversion, making the Jags lead 27-20.

Hewitt responded in the final minutes of the game thanks to a pair of short scoring passes. Pearson caught the first for a touchdown and Hull grabbed the second for a 1-point conversion to tie up the game at 27-27 with 1:14 to go.

The Huskies quickly got the ball back and came just inches away from winning the game at the buzzer, but Spain Park made a crucial flag pull at the goal line to save the season and send the game to overtime.

The Jags got the ball first to start overtime, and Hutchinson found Jordan Weiner for a touchdown, putting Spain Park up 33-27 and forcing Hewitt to once again respond.

Needing a stop to secure the win, the Jags defense came up strong, keeping the Huskies from the end zone before a missed pitch on fourth down sent Spain Park to state.

After the game, Starr credited her team for remaining calm under pressure and making the plays late that they needed to in order to win. She kept telling the team to stay the course in the final moments and said the team looks forward to challenges like Hewitt.

“Just to not quit, stay positive, stay confident, keep your energy, be contagious, be impossible to ignore, just a lot of things just to keep their mindset where it needed to be,” Starr said on what told her team late in the game. “We’re okay with some adversity. We treat it as a hurdle not obstacle. We’re alright.”

Big plays from returning players like Hutchinson helped push the Jags to the win, but Starr also gave a lot of props to the new players that they brought in over the offseason.

20 of their 27 players had never played flag football prior to this season. However, Starr said that their hard work has helped transform them into key parts of their team, and now that they are growing to be more confident in their abilities on the field, they’ve become a title contender.

“We’ve brought 20 new ones in that have never played the game before, so it was just a pleasant surprise, but how hard they’ve worked, how hard they bought in, how hard they committed and just became more and more confident as players,” Starr said. “And once that confidence kind of matches their physical ability, sky’s the limit.”

Now, the Jags will face the biggest test of their potential in the top-ranked Central Red Devils. While this is the first season that the AHSAA has officially sanctioned flag football as a championship sport, Central won the 6A/7A state tournament last season and will now face off against another veteran program for the championship on Wednesday, Dec. 4.