Jets stave off Sparkman comeback bid in 31-24 win
MADISON – For a second straight week James Clemens wound up in a back-and-forth battle against a Class 7A, Region 4 rival.
This time, however, the Jets won.
Despite once again giving up the lead in the second half, host James Clemens defeated Sparkman 31-24 last Friday at Madison City Schools Stadium. That outcome came one week after the Jets blew a late lead in a loss to Florence.
James Clemens snapped a two-game skid to improve to 3-4 overall, 3-2 in the region. Sparkman, which last year pulled off an upset of James Clemens, dropped to 3-5, 3-2 in 7A-4. The Jets lead the all-time series 8-2.
“We made one more play than they did,” said first-year James Clemens coach Juan Johnson. “We said we had to have it. We know we’re really good now.”
Among the key plays were the opening kickoff and a late defensive stop. Kaleb Pryor recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and MJ Gideon ran into the end zone from the 1-yard run line with Thai Lyles kicking the extra point to give James Clemens a 7-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game.
Then in the fourth quarter with the Jets trying to hold on to a seven-point lead, Mason Rose swatted down a long throw from Sparkman quarterback Joshua Naylon on a pass attempt to Zayden Bodner in the right corner of the end zone on fourth down.
“They got me early on (on Bodner’s touchdown catch that pulled the Senators within 17-14 in the second quarter) and I knew they were going to it again,” said Rose, a senior cornerback. “I played him outside and I didn’t turn my back to him. I just jumped for the ball.”
After that defensive stop the Jets ran out the clock thanks, in part, to Gideon’s powerful running up the middle.
Gideon, a top recruit, ran for a game-high 237 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. His 13-yard scoring run gave the Jets a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but his most timely touchdown — a 51-yard scamper down the left sideline — came just three plays after the Senators went ahead in the third quarter on Naylon’s 9-yard touchdown pass to No. 7.
Christian Richey, James Clemens’ other top running back, added 38 rushing yards with 26 receiving yards on three catches.
“They did a really good job running,” Johnson said of his top rushers. “And hats off to our offensive linemen. They had a good night.”
Sparkman’s comeback bid came after James Clemens built that 17-0 lead. The Senators rallied with 21 unanswered points. They capped a 17-play, 62-yard drive with Naylon’s 3-yard pass to Nathaniel Davis for their first points of the game before pulling within 17-14 on Naylon’s 5-yard pass to Bodner.
The Senators took their only lead of the game, going ahead 21-17 on Naylon’s 9-yard pass to Chad Reynolds. That 10–play, 58-yard drive followed the Jets’ botched punt after a bad snap.
Nonetheless, Gideon’s long touchdown run three plays later gave the lead back to the home team at 24-21. The Jets added a 4-yard scoring run by Gideon late in the third quarter to take a 31-21 lead.
The Senators got a 41-yard field goal by Daniel Gomez to account for the final margin.
Sparkman’s most productive players on offense were Naylon, who passed for 148 yards and three touchdowns with Kameron Reynolds totaling nine receptions for 88 yards. The leading rusher for the Senators was Waylon Marbury, who gained 130 yards on 19 carries.
