By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

HOOVER – Leading their second-round playoff matchup against Russell County 24-7, the Spain Park Jaguars put the game out of reach late in the first half with a play that defined the game.

With Russell County looking for their second touchdown drive in a row, the Warriors put were rolling down the field and had a goal line situation, but the Jags’ defense stepped up when it mattered most as it has most of the year.

With Russell County quarterback Bryson Riggins running toward a touchdown, he met two defenders at the goal line, who combined for a hit that jarred the ball loose and caused it to trickle out of the end zone for a touchback.

Spain Park then quickly marched 80 yards down the field in just more than a minute behind multiple big plays, including a 31-yard pass from Brock Bradley to Mason McClure and a 20-yard run from CJ Cowley, ultimately setting up a 1-yard touchdown run on the QB sneak from Bradley.

All of a sudden, the lead, that could have been cut to 10, blossomed to 24 points at the half, which created the necessary separation for the Jaguars to pick up a 45-30 win to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A playoffs.

“We make that big fumble right before halftime. That was a big swing in the game,” Vakakes said. “We talk about the last five and the first five and that transition all year. That was a big play.”

That end to the first half was the storyline of the night, as the Jags capitalized on opportunities early, while the Warriors failed to do so in the opening half and fell into too big of a hole.

It started with the opening kick when the Jags recovered a muffed kick to set up their first drive at the Russell County 18-yard line.

Two plays later, Dakarai Shanks carried the ball 14 yards for the early score and 7-0 lead in less than a minute.

“I thought that was big. It was big,” Vakakes said of the early extra possession. “You don’t really plan for that. You plan to get the ball second half, play defense first possession, so that was huge. Our guys did a good job of putting it in the end zone. That was a big swing.”

The defense the quickly forced a short punt, which set up another drive, as the Jaguars added a 30-yard field goal from Josh Tullos to make it 10-0.

The Warriors looked to have a response, but a fourth-and-6 interception in Spain Park territory gave it back to the Jags.

Then, after getting the ball back, a holding negated a 50-yard touchdown run that would have cut the deficit to three.

Spain Park once again capitalized, using a heavy dose of Cowley and Shanks to march down the field for another scoring drive capped off by a 2-yard Shanks run to make it 17-0.

Russell County then finally hit an explosive play on a 75-yard touchdown pass on a post rout that did bring the deficit to 10 points.

The Jags, however, followed with a clutch drive that included a third-and-13 pass from Bradley to Corey Barber for25 yards, eventually setting up a powerful 15-yard touchdown run from Cowley to make it 24-7 with 4:46 left in the half.

That’s when Russell County looked to put together another big drive to draw within 10, but a flip of momentum on the goal line shifted the entire game into Spain Park’s favor, leading to the 31-7 halftime lead.

Russell County, however, didn’t fold.

The Warriors came out and got a big defensive stop to start the second half and quickly went down the field and scored with a successful 2-point conversion following to trim the game to 31-15.

That was part of a 23-point half for Russell County that brought the Warriors to within two scores on a couple of occasions, but they never could get the stops needed against a hot Spain Park offense.

Shanks and Cowley were big reasons why down the stretch.

Cowley scored on Spain Park’s next drive, doing so in the passing game with a 14-yard touchdown reception from Bradley to make it 38-15.

He then added the final touchdown of the night for the Jags with 7:22 left in the final quarter to cap off what became a 15-point victory.

“We knew they were electric,” Vakakes said. “We told our kids, we had to put this game in a phone booth and start swinging. It was a big win for us. Playoffs are playoffs, you get their best. We are glad to be 12-0 and heading down south.”

Cowley finished the night with 14 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while he added four receptions for 45 yards and a score. Shanks totaled an impressive 158 yards and two touchdowns on the ground off 21 carries to follow up his 200-yard performance in round one.

Through two rounds of the playoffs, the duo has combined for 578 rushing yards with both going over 100 yards in each game.

“They’re both really good football players,” Vakakes said. “They’re tough kids. They work. We do a lot of hard things and our kids are used to doing a lot of hard things and it pays off.”

Five different players caught passes in the game, while Bradley totaled 178 passing yards on 12-16 passing with one touchdown.

Spain Park will now travel to take on No. 1 Saraland for a battle of top-five teams for a spot in the semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs.

“They have a lot of great players,” Vakakes said of the matchup. “We’re going to get on the bus, head down south and get off the bus swinging like we do every week. We have to execute. When you have a chance to make a play, make it. You don’t get do overs. Playoffs, you don’t get do overs.”