James Clemens falls on the road, 60-43, in first playoff game
Oak Mountain’s Harold Shader breaks away from the Jets defense for one of his four touchdowns Friday. (Contributed/Barry W. Clemmons)
By Neal Embry | For the Record
NORTH SHELBY — The James Clemens Jets built a big lead early against Oak Mountain in the first playoff game in the history of James Clemens. Going into halftime, The Jets were ahead 35-13.
When the final whistle blew, however, the scoreboard read Eagles 60, Jets 43, and Oak Mountain had completed an improbable comeback.
“We told them we had 24 minutes left, and we could use them however we chose,” Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell said. “They believed and just battled.”
The Eagles struggled early on defense, giving up several big plays including two touchdown passes of more than 80 yards from Jets quarterback Heath Burchfield, who finished with 360 yards and four touchdowns.
The tide began to turn when the Jets’ leading rusher, Maceo Booker, went down on a kickoff return in the second quarter. He was seen in crutches later in the game.
As the second half got underway, the home team quickly took control.
After taking the second-half kickoff to the Jets 47-yard line, Warren Shader found Daniel Salchert for a 53-yard touchdown pass.
The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by James Clemens, picked up by Oak Mountain, and led to another Warren Shader touchdown, this time on a 31-yard run. Warren Shader finished the night with 163 rushing yards and four total scores.
The Eagles forced one of Burchfield’s three second-half interceptions on the Jets’ first offensive drive of the second half, turning it into a Harold Shader touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and James Clemens led 35-33.
Harold Shader scampered 71 yards on the next Oak Mountain drive, his third of the evening.
The Jets were hurt by four second-half turnovers and numerous penalties. A fumble cut their next drive short, and the Eagles capitalized to go up 46-35.
After cutting the lead to three, the Jets defense once again failed to stop Harold Shader. With six minutes to play, Shader ran the ball 62 yards into the end zone.
In the last five minutes, the Eagles forced interceptions on the Jets’ last two offensive possessions, and Harold Shader had his third touchdown run of over 60 yards to seal the 60-43 win. Harold Shader finished with 274 yards and five scores.
James Clemens will finish 7-4, by far the best season in the Jets’ three-year history. Oak Mountain (10-1 6-1) will face Gadsden City, the only team from 7A’s Region 4 that won its opening playoff game, on Nov. 14.
