Bob Jones bounced from playoffs in another first round loss
MADISON- Bob Jones’ defense had been getting key stops all season but Friday night in the first round of the AHSAA 7A playoffs was one of the few occasions Bob Jones let a lead get away and Mountain Brook drove for three first downs to kill the final five minutes of fourth quarter clock and hung on for a 23-22 victory.
It is the fourth straight season Bob Jones has exited the playoffs in the first round.
“We had our chances,” Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said. “I thought we could get a stop and drive back down and win it with a field goal. Jake Fruehwald has kicked outstanding all year and I told him that he was going to make a kick at the end of the game to win it for us and I thought it was going to play out that way but we had too many field goals and not enough touchdowns. We came up one point short.”
Kade Koler takes down MB running back Harold Joiner
Rose got his wish of a dry fast field but it was Mountain Brook who made the big plays on offense in the second half.
Bob Jones seized the momentum in the second quarter as quarterback Caden Rose converted a fourth and inches, then hit Demontrez Brown to the three-yard line where Khalil Griffin scored on the next play. After a missed two-point conversion Bob Jones led 12-7.
Jacob Fruehwald kicked two field goals in the first half for Bob Jones.
In the third quarter the Patriots stretched their lead to 19-10 when Griffin caught a three-yard touchdown pass.
It was one of the few times Bob Jones under Rose got a lead at home but didn’t put the other team away.
“They got a good football team. The kids play hard and they are well-coached. I give them credit, they made the plays they had to make in the second half to win.”
On the ensuing drive Mountain Brook quarterback Hamp Sisson converted on fourth and three then scored on a five-yard touchdown run.
Artavian Toney lays out to stop a MB runner (photo by Charles Edgeworth)
Sisson proved to be the difference when his top running back Harold Joiner went out with a knee injury in the third quarter.
A.J. Gates burned the Patriots defense with an 80-yard touchdown run to give Mountain Brook a lead they would not relinquish.
A pooch kick fumbled by Bob Jones gave Mountain Brook an extra possession which resulted in a missed field goal.
Bob Jones drove to inside the five-yard line and had a first down at the three but couldn’t punch it in, was flagged five yards for illegal formation, and settled for a 25-yard field goal that left them precariously trailing by one point with 4:51 left to play.
In an effort to get more speed on the field Rose played Khalil Griffin at running back and Jadon Hill at receiver. Kade Koler even got snaps on offense in goal line situations. All three had played all season on defense.
“Playoff game you win or go home and we played some kids on offense to give us a spark and they did at times. I’m proud of all the players. We could have quit at 0-2. We came a long way.”
It was the final game for 22 seniors.
