Jags fall to Hoover in final minutes
HOOVER – Shedrick Jackson was not about to let his knee touch the ground.
Not with his team trailing its rival late in the fourth quarter. Not after his receiving mate George Pickens just made an incredible catch to put his team in scoring position.
Not in his senior season.
Jackson’s 25-yard touchdown reception with 1:18 remaining in the game lifted the Hoover High School football team to a thrilling 27-24 win over crosstown rival Spain Park on Friday night at Jaguar Stadium.
When quarterback Jalen Parker was forced to step up in the pocket, Jackson made his way back toward his signal caller. The pass arrived, and a Spain Park defender dove at Jackson’s legs.
“When you get your chance to make a play, no matter what’s called, you got to go make a play,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett.
He stumbled, his knee inches from the ground, but he maintained his balance. He took off for the pylon and won the race to the end zone to score the touchdown and eventual game-winner.
“It’s my senior year and I’ve got to be a leader for these guys,” Jackson said. “I had to make a play for my team.”
Hoover’s (3-1, 2-0 Class 7A, Region 3) game-winning touchdown drive was nearly stopped dead in its tracks. Parker found Pickens — a blooming star opposite Jackson on the outside — on a deep pass, but the Bucs were called for a holding penalty, resulting in a 20-yard loss.
On third-and-25 with the game on the line and deep in his own territory, Parker threw one deep for Pickens again, and with two Spain Park defenders blanketing him, he somehow came up with the reception again, for a 44-yard gain.
“We’re trying to bring pressure because we don’t have the matchup down the field,” said Spain Park coach Shawn Raney. “When it’s third-and-25, you don’t know what to do. We laid back and played zone, and the guy jumped over everybody and made a play. You can’t do much about that as a coach or as a player.”
Spain Park (3-1, 1-1) had one final drive in the final minute, and a screen pass to D’Arie Johnson went for 22 yards, but the Bucs forced three straight incompletions to force the turnover on downs.
“For us to get that stop at the end, it was huge,” Niblett said. “It was just big for us, man, it was huge.”
The Jags went toe to toe with the reigning state champions, and held the lead in the fourth quarter all the way until Hoover’s late score.
“They put their guts on the line and that’s all you can ask as a coach,” Raney said. “When you see your kids play like that, it makes you proud, even though we came up short at the end.”
The Jags scored consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead. Braxton Barker hit Michael Rogers for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17-17 with 4:02 remaining in the third quarter.
Hoover fumbled the first snap on the ensuing possession, and four plays later, Spain Park was back in the end zone and took the 24-17 lead, as Jalen Henderson barreled his way into the end zone from 7 yards out. Henderson finished with 32 yards on nine carries.
Pickens got the scoring started in the game with a 57-yard punt return that saw him break out of a mass of players twice, as he broke what seemed like a dozen tackles on his way to pay dirt.
Niblett said, “I just kept seeing him get in and out of tackles and go to the house. How special that was.”
Barker had a great night through the air, throwing touchdown passes to Jalen McMillan and Rogers, as he finished 22-of-34 for 290 yards. His strike to the sideline was snared by McMillan, who did the rest of the work for a 70-yard score to tie the score at 7-7 late in the first quarter.
Larry McCammon capped off a seven-play drive early in the second quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run. Although that was his only score, he was impressive, piling up 146 yards on 19 carries. Fellow backfield mates Vonte’ Brackett and Jacquez Allen racked up 73 total yards.
Parker wrapped up his evening 13-of-22 passing for 218 yards and the final touchdown of the game. Jackson finished with 67 yards on three grabs and Pickens wound up with four catches for 79 yards.
“He’s a playmaker. I love the ball in that guy’s hands,” Niblett said of Parker.
Hoover kicker Barret Pickering notched a pair of field goals, a 26-yarder in the third quarter and a 35-yard one in the fourth. Spain Park's Cole Starr banged home a 30-yard kick in the second quarter.
Spain Park’s strong start to the season was clearly no fluke, as the Jags gave the Bucs everything they wanted.
“They’re a good football team,” Niblett said. “I really thought coming into the game they were playing better than we were.”
But now the Jags move on to another critical region game next week at Mountain Brook.
“We can’t let this game beat us twice. We’ve got to come back and beat a very good Mountain Brook team next week,” Raney said.
Hoover hosts Tuscaloosa County next week.