Eagles thrash Jags, snap 5-game skid
HOOVER — Turnovers tell the tale of Friday night’s matchup between the Spain Park and Oak Mountain high school football teams.
Spain Park coughed the ball up five times. Oak Mountain, on the other hand, protected it for all 48 minutes.
As a result, the Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak by blasting the Jags, 29-3, in the Class 7A, Region 3 finale for both teams.
“It feels good,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said. “It’s been a long five weeks.”
At Jaguar Stadium, the Eagles (4-5, 2-5 in region) made it a long four quarters for their opponent.
Oak Mountain forced three-and-outs on three of Spain Park’s five first-half possessions. The other two ended in a turnover on downs and an interception.
“The game plan, it came together,” said senior defensive back Zach Nelson. “It was one of our toughest weeks of practice.”
Nelson hawked his first of three interceptions in the closing seconds of the second quarter, after Christian Hood’s 30-yard field goal and Connor Webb’s 1-yard quarterback sneak had given Oak Mountain a 10-0 lead.
Nelson stepped in front of Braxton Barker’s deep heave down the right hash, and returned the resulting interception to the Spain Park 28. Initially, the referees ruled that time had expired at the end of Nelson’s return. But, after a discussion, they put two ticks back on the clock.
That’s all Oak Mountain needed.
Webb dropped back and looked toward the front, left corner of the end zone, where he found 6-foot-5 tight end Carson Bobo for a leaping touchdown.
“Connor Webb threw a perfect pass, and I can’t not catch a perfect pass,” Bobo said.
The score extended Oak Mountain’s halftime lead to 16-0.
“To have a break like that at the end was huge for our guys emotionally,” Bell said.
Spain Park (5-4, 3-4), which had been held to fewer than 80 yards in the first half, almost matched that production on the opening drive of the third quarter. Barker connected with MJ Rogers and Kenyon Hines on plays of 24 and 30 yards, respectively, to set up a 22-yard field goal from Cole Starr.
But that’s all Oak Mountain allowed.
Barker, who completed 26-of-39 passes for 221 yards, tossed three more interceptions in the final two quarters. Nelson came down with two, and Dylan Hoye came down with another.
Webb connected with Bobo for a 15-yard touchdown after Hoye’s fourth-quarter pick. The Oak Mountain signal-caller finished 9-of-12 for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Bobo hauled in four passes for 69 yards.
“It’s a great thing for our team,” Bobo said of the victory. “I’m excited for it.”
Oak Mountain also cashed in on a second-half muffed punt, which it recovered at the Spain Park 22. The Eagles needed only six plays for running back Luke Percer to follow his blockers into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown.
“Here’s the deal: We didn’t turn the ball over tonight. They did,” Bell said. “The first six, seven, eight games of the year we were turning the ball over. That was huge.”
Percer, Webb and Jonathan Bennett combined for 174 yards rushing, while the Oak Mountain defense limited Spain Park to 59 yards on the ground.
The Jags entered the game having already clinched a playoff spot. Oak Mountain, meanwhile, had already been eliminated from postseason contention.
The Eagles will conclude their 2017 campaign next Friday against Hazel Green, while Spain Park will wrap up regular season play against Minor on Thursday.
“Hopefully we’ll finish on a good note,” Bell said.