Photo by Ted Melton
Spain Park's Braxton Barker (7) during a game between Spain Park and Mountain Brook on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, at Spartan Stadium in Mountain Brook.
The Spain Park High School football team will return to Class 7A, Region 3 play on Friday at Huffman. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Viking Stadium.
Spain Park (3-2, 1-2 in region) enters the game coming off a bye week. Prior to that, the Jags suffered down-to-the wire losses against Hoover and Mountain Brook.
Hoover scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to earn a 27-24 win on Sept. 15. Mountain Brook converted a two-point attempt after scoring a touchdown in double overtime to claim a 51-50 victory on Sept. 22.
In the loss to Mountain Brook, Spain Park place-kicker Cole Starr forced overtime by sneaking a 41-yard field goal over the crossbar as time expired in regulation.
“We’ve got some kids that will fight,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said.
The Jags have been in this position before. Last year, they also fell to Hoover and Mountain Brook before taking a bye week. The team then proceeded to close the regular season with five straight wins, locking up a playoff spot.
The path to duplicating that feat starts against Huffman (3-2, 1-2 in region), which Spain Park beat 42-6 in 2016. The Vikings enter the game after earning a 20-14 win at McAdory last Friday.
Huffman has lost to region opponents Oak Mountain (31-0) and Vestavia Hills (32-12), but it defeated Tuscaloosa County (32-29) on Sept. 15.
This will be a critical game for a Spain Park team in need of some positive energy. The Jags host Thompson, which is currently undefeated, and its high-powered offense next Friday.
