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By Scott Mims | Contributing Writer

The Spain Park High School Jaguars made history Friday night by being the first SPHS team to go 9-0 in a season, as they defeated the Chilton County High School Tigers on the road, 37-6. The Jaguars already had a No. 1 seed in the playoffs going into the game, but the win keeps them undefeated and maintains momentum as they head to their final game of the season at Gardendale on Nov. 1.

“Our kids are so used to doing hard things,” said Spain Park coach Tim Vakakes. “This day and age, sometimes it’s not as easy as it may have been to get kids to do hard things, but our kids are committed to doing it. Our kids, they’ve put a lot of work into this program.”

Vakakes said he thought the Jags started off a little rusty Friday night, but they battled and cleaned up some things as the game progressed. He also gave props to Chilton County’s offense.

“I thought Chilton County did a good job getting after us. Our execution just wasn’t what we needed to be. We just have to get better next week for Gardendale,” he said.

CCHS coach Eddie Wall said he told his players to go out and have fun competing against one of the state’s top teams and just “see what happens.”

“That’s exactly what they did,” Wall said, adding that despite the loss, he felt that Friday night’s game could be a turning point for the program with the heart and resilience the players showed.

Spain Park’s Brock Bradley scored on a short run in the first, then the Tigers’ Logan Coppedge answered with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Luke Moatts to make it 7-6 with 3:11 on the clock. Only a blocked PAT kept the Tigers from tying the game.

Colt Stabler’s field goal gave the Jags a four-point lead before the first quarter came to a close. Then, Bradley connected on a pair of touchdowns in the second with Corey Barber from 21 yards out, and Weston Brock from 35 yards out. The score was 23-6 at halftime.

Spain Park kept pulling away in the third, as Bradley and Barber connected again for a 9-yard score. Finishing it off was Geno Ferguson, going over the top in the fourth for a diving touchdown.

C.J. Cowley led Spain Park rushing with 86 yards on 15 carries, while Dakarai Shanks gained 68 yards on nine carries. Bradley passed 16 for 22 with a total of 223 yards. Barber led the team receiving, with 153 yards and 11 catches while Brock totaled 50 yards on two catches.

Next week, Chilton County (2-7) travels to Elmore County High School for its final game of the season on Nov. 1.