Sparkman gives Spain Park a scrap in opener

HARVEST – The football twirled through the night sky toward the right side of the field.

It was a pass from Spain Park senior quarterback Brock Bradley for a receiver in white and baby blue, but Sparkman senior cornerback Tre Dixon didn’t wait around to see who was going to catch it.

The Senator defender flashed in front of the intended target and intercepted the pigskin.

Dixon darted down the sideline in his all-black uniform like a boat gliding over water.

The Jaguars chased after him, but it was no use, Dixon was too fast and he had given his team some hope with an interception touchdown that made it 27-14 Spain Park with 11:29 to play in the third quarter.

Spain Park (1-0) would go on to win the game 48-21, but the Senators (0-1) still had moments of success against a strong program from Hoover. On paper, this contest was a mismatch with the Jaguars sporting a 12-1 record from a year ago with a deep playoff run.

Sparkman, on the other hand, finished with a 5-4 mark in 2024 and the Senators even lost to Spain Park last season 38-7.

Needless to say, this game appeared destined to become another bludgeoning courtesy of the team in baby blue.

The opening game of the season at Sparkman this past Friday night started out strong for the visiting Jaguars who found themselves up 21-0 in a flurry of offensive strength.

The first touchdown came at the 8:05 mark of the first quarter when Bradley found senior wideout Kena Rego from 26 yards.

7-0 Spain Park became 14-0 Jags when the sophomore running back Nic McKissic pounded his way the final two yards for a touchdown later in the first quarter.

The third consecutive end zone trip for Spain Park came in the form of a second short-yardage score by the back McKissic for one yard as the offensive line came through once more with 9:40 on the clock in the second quarter.

Not much had been going right for Sparkman until the Senators put together a productive drive that was boosted by a costly roughing the passer penalty by Spain Park.

The personal foul tacked on 15 more yards and moved Sparkman across midfield.

The Senators made it hurt when quarterback Keaton Williams found senior receiver Zayden Bodner for a 15-yard score to secure Sparkman’s first points of the game at 21-7 with 6:44 to go before halftime.

Spain Park went back to work with another touchdown with 3:42 remaining in the second quarter when Bradley hit junior receiver Mason McClure on a 42yard strike to make it 27-7 after a missed PAT.

Down three scores in the third quarter, Sparkman received that much-needed shot in the arm for Dixon’s house call on the interception of Bradley to make it 2714.

The momentum appeared to be shifting in favor of Sparkman in the third quarter as Spain Park was forced to punt and the Senators went right back to work on offense.

Sparkman got tricky with a double pass that drew a pass interference call down the field.

The drive culminated with a rushing score by junior Braylon Lawson to pull the Senators just one TD away from tying the game at 27-21 with 6:31 on the clock in the third quarter.

Spain Park needed to stop the bleeding with another score to hold Sparkman at bay.

The Jaguars were facing a critical fourth down when Bradley lobbed a ball into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown to McClure to make it 33-21 near the end of the third quarter.

The wheels fell off in the fourth quarter for the Senators who allowed two more touchdowns down the stretch to make it look like it was never close.

While Sparkman didn’t end up with the result that it would have liked, the Senators have plenty to build on next week on the road at Hillcrest (1-0).