Friday Night Lights

By Wesley Hallman (Contact) | Shelby County Reporter

Published Tuesday, August 25, 2009

HOOVER — Spain Park High School head coach David Shores discovered one important thing about his football team during a two-quarter varsity scrimmage at home Friday against Opelika.

He doesn’t have to worry about the kicking game. Senior Justin Lumpkin nailed two field goals and put a kickoff into the end zone. Senior punter Aaron Haag booted a 60-yard punt as the Jaguars’ special teams shined in a 14-7 win over Opelika.

The second half was cancelled as severe weather moved into the area at halftime.

Shores said new offensive coordinator Brooks Dampeer is thrilled with the Jags’ kickers, which gave Spain Park two key field goals when offensive drives stalled.

“It’s good to have a kicking game,” Shores said. “Brooks said it’s good to have one kicker. We’ve got three of them.”

Dampeer’s impact on the offensive game plan could be seen in his debut. The Jags’ run heavy offense racked up 72 yards on 28 carries. Senior running back DaRon Smith rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Shores said he was also impressed with running back Tamar Mickens and fullbacks Lee Mitchell and Steven Silvio.

“We’ve got four guys in a rotation back there,” Shores said. “We’ve started working on a mentality of running the football and getting downhill. We’ve adapted to that mentality pretty well.”

Lumpkin scored the first points of the game for the Jags on a 26-yard field goal with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter. Smith's 5-yard touchdown run and a Jake Lee pass to Mickens for a two-point conversion gave Spain Park a 11-0 lead with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

Lumpkin capped the scoring with a 32-yard field goal with 2:24 left in the second quarter.

Shores said the Jags are confident heading into the season opener Aug. 28 against Homewood. His only regret is his team didn’t getting a chance to see how they would handle leading after halftime when the second half was called off.

“I would have liked to have seen how we responded in the third quarter leading 14-7,” Shores said.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?