Photo by Ted Melton.
Spain Park basketball
Spain Park's Malik Blanchard goes up for a shot in a game against Pelham last season.
The Spain Park boys and girls basketball teams open the season with home games Thursday.
The girls will face Midfield at 6 p.m. and the boys take on Hueytown at 7:30 p.m.
The Spain Park football team closed out the season with a 30-7 win over Bessemer City to finish the season with a 6-4 record. Coach Shawn Raney said he believes the Jaguars were playing their best football at season's end, but the Jags were locked out of the playoffs as Hewitt-Trussville's win over Spain Park broke a tiebreaker. Hewitt, Spain Park and Mountain Brook finished in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, but since both the Huskies and Jags had beaten Mountain Brook, eliminating the Spartans, it came down to the head-to-head tiebreaker between the Huskies and Jags, and Hewitt's 64-63 four-overtime win was the decisive factor.
Briarwood Christian will travel to Florence for the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs. The Lions (4-6) and Falcons (8-2) will meet Friday at Braly Municipal Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. and admission is $8.
Oak Mountain hosts James Clemens in the first-round of the high school football playoffs Friday at 7 p.m. at Heardmont Park. The Eagles (9-1) and Jets (8-3) have never met. James Clemens, which is in the Huntsville suburb of Madison, played its first football season in 2012 and is coached by former Chelsea coach Wade Waldrop. Admission is $8 and per AHSAA rules there is no reserved seating.
