REGION KINGS: James Clemens clinches football title

MADISON – As a cold wind blew and girls pressed their dresses down and huddled against homecoming escorts as halftime neared, the marching band prepared to play a 1980s list that included Michael Jackson’s enduring “Beat It” and the Guns N’ Roses rock anthem “Sweet Child O’ Mine.’’

The James Clemens football team, however, had already gone to the jukebox two quarters prior and pressed 6A, R4 for Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy.’’

The Jets soared to a 49-7 lead that nearly went a touchdown more before halftime, then took the foot off the pedal and settled for that final score in a win over visiting Hazel Green that clinched the Class 6A, Region 4 championship.

“We really just want to play to a standard, really regardless of the opponent,’’ James Clemens head coach Juan Johnson said after the team’s sixth- straight win. “We felt that playing our brand of football has been what we’ve been able to do each game this season, and we’ve tried to get better and better and more efficient at it.’’

James Clemens (7-1 overall, 6-0 region) hosts region opponent Huntsville this week, then closes the regular season Thursday, Oct. 29 at Spain Park. The Jets have a bye in the first round of the playoffs and hope to become the first team outside of the 2023 Madison Academy squad among Huntsville/Madison County programs to advance past the first round since Madison County in 2019.

“We want to maximize our opportunity while it exists,” Johnson said. “We think we have a solid football team that can hopefully make some noise in the playoffs. We’ve earned the right to have a bye and be the one seed, but at the same time, we can’t just rest on that, and we’ve got to do some things some teams in Huntsville have not been able to do in the last few years.’’