The Vincent Yellow Jackets and Calera Eagles met Friday night with both teams already owning a playoff berth. But anyone watching the action

would have thought both teams were facing elimination.

At the end of the night, the Yellow Jackets emerged victorious, 20-16, and took their share of a three-way tie for the Class 2A, Region 4 title.

The Jackets trailed Calera, 16-13, entering the fourth quarter; but Vincent head coach Dwight Spradley said his team has bounced back in a number of games this season.

&8220;We’ve been down in several games this year,&8221; Spradley said. &8220;And although they’re down, this team never quits.&8221;

Following their coach’s words, the Jackets scored on a 40-yard pass from quarterback Steven Adams to receiver Justin Peterson for the go-ahead score.

&8220;They’ve got this refuse-to-lose attitude,&8221; Spradley said.

&8220;It’s so refreshing for us.&8221;

Adams finished the night completing 7-of-13 passes for 77 yards, a touchdown and one interception.

Adams added 43 yards on 13 carries and one score on the ground alongside Vincent running back Desmond Yowe, who finished with 87 yards on 16 carries and one score.

Calera head coach Lanny Jones said his team struggle to capitalize on opportunities in the game.

&8220;I think we played hard,&8221; Jones said. &8220;But we didn’t execute well. There are a lot of times when we have big play potential, but we don’t seem to capitalize.&8221;

Jones credited the play of his running backs, Kaderius Lacey and Dramaine Chism, for providing an offensive spark for his team against the Jackets.

&8220;Both our backs played well for us tonight,&8221; he said.

Lacey finished with 23 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown, while Chism notched 109 yards on eight carries and a score.

Despite sealing their share of the region title, Spradley said his team will likely take the third spot going into the playoffs because of earlier losses. However, he said, his team is just happy to be in the postseason.

&8220;The past few years have been a tough road for this team,&8221; he said. &8220;This couldn’t happen to a nicer group of young men.&8221;

The Yellow Jackets will take part in another county rivalry this week as they host Montevallo in a special Thursday night game.

Calera sealed the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 4 with a 4-3 record. The Eagles will travel to Fultondale this week looking to bounce back from the difficult loss and get a jump-start win going into the postseason.

&8220;The biggest thing we need to do is to get back to where we have been offensively,&8221; Jones said. &8220;We’re not executing right now and it’s not a good time to be doing that in the ninth game of the season.&8221;