By Lee Davis
The 2013 season was a memorable one for Spain Park football.
Most of the memories will be good ones. At least one of them will be not so good.
On the positive side, the Jaguars opened with a head-turning 8-0 record and won the Class 6A Region 4 title.
On the downside, Spain Park lost a true heartbreaker in the first round of the playoffs.
Falling behind Enterprise 27-7 after three quarters, the Jaguars rallied to a 20-point fourth quarter to tie the game in regulation. A 27-yard field goal by the Wildcats’ Jonathan Stinnett gave the visitors a 30-27 verdict and ended Spain Park’s season.
“It breaks your heart,” said Spain Park coach Shawn Raney, who saw his first Jaguar team end its season with an 8-3 mark. “We made too many mistakes. You can’t afford to do that in the playoffs against good teams.”
Spain Park lost despite a courageous performance by quarterback Mason Duke, who completed 17 of 33 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Enterprise’s big advantage was too much to overcome.
“That’s the story of our season,” Raney said. “We start slow but keep fighting. I’m very proud of that fact.”
The story of Spain Park’s final game began when Enterprise running back Tristian Quiles scored on a four-yard run to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 3:58 remaining in the first period.
Duke directed the Jaguars to their first touchdown early in the second period. His 49-yard scoring strike to Dalton Brown and Thomas Taylor’s conversion tied the game at 7-7 with 9:01 left in the first half.
The tie didn’t last long. Shaquille Soloman returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, and Enterprise was back in front 14-7.
Stinnett added a 45-yard field goal, and the Wildcats were in command 17-7 at the half.
A rout appeared to be in the offing when Enterprise added two scores in the third period. The first score was a 27-yard field goal by Stinnett. The second was a 47-yard touchdown run by Hezekiah Woods, giving the Wildcats a 27-7 bulge at the end of the third quarter.
When all seemed lost, Spain Park came to life.
Duke led the Jags on a four-play 82-yard drive to get back into the game. The quarterback’s 48-yard bomb to Brown cut the score to 27-13. The extra point attempt sailed foul.
The momentum turned strongly in Spain Park’s direction on the next series. Only 30 seconds after the Jaguar touchdown, Spain Park linebacker Perry Young forced an Enterprise fumble, and the Jags had the ball at the Wildcat nine-yard line.
Duke promptly passed 12 yards to Phillip Brown for a touchdown, and Enterprise’s fat margin slipped to 27-20.
With two minutes left in the game, Spain Park faced a do-or-die situation: The Jaguars had to drive 73 yards for a touchdown to earn a trip to overtime.
Duke and his teammates delivered. The quarterback connected on a long toss to Brown. Then he connected with Wade Streeter, who moved deep into Wildcat territory. The touchdown came on Duke’s six-yard strike to Derek Williams. Taylor’s conversion tied the game at 27-27, sending it into overtime.
Spain Park got the ball first. On the first two plays, Street ran for short gains. On third down, Duke was sacked for a loss. On fourth down, Taylor narrowly missed a field goal attempt from 33 yards out.
Enterprise took advantage of the situation, opting to go for the winning field goal on first down. “If there had been a bad snap or something like that, we could have fallen on the ball and still had three more downs,” Wildcat coach David Faulkner later said.
Unfortunately for Spain Park, Enterprise didn’t need any more downs. Stinnett’s 27-yard field goal was perfect, and the Jaguars’ season was finished.
Otis Harris sparked the Jaguar running game with 122 yards on 19 carries. The Spain Park defensive unit was burned early in the game but stood tall in the final quarter, giving up only one first down in the period.
“You learn from this and go on,” Raney said. “This one will be hard to forget.”
It will be, but Raney’s first year at Spain Park will offer plenty of good memories, too.
