By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Pelham Panthers improved to 4-1 to start the season thanks to a pair of victories to close out the week. The Panthers defeated Bessemer City 70-34 on the road on Thursday, Nov. 16 before coming home a night later to beat Prattville Christian 73-46 on Friday, Nov. 17.

Against Prattville Christian, Pelham opened the game up on a hot streak, scoring 25 in the opening period.  Jayden Robinson set the tone of the game in the first possession by going up and grabbing an offensive board and finishing with a thunderous dunk.

Eight different players got on the board for Pelham in the first quarter, and a stifling defense held Prattville Christian to only nine points in the quarter.

Prattville Christian responded in the second quarter with four 3-point baskets to trim the lead at the half to 39-24.

In the second half, Pelham turned up the defensive intensity by outscoring Prattville Christian 34-22 in the half, and that helped them secure the 73-46 victory.

The scorebook continued to be spread out with eight different players scoring in the second half. Leading the way for the Panthers was Joe Wimberly with 12 points, followed by James Nguyen who hit three 3’s to total 11 points alongside Jayden Robinson. Eli Lewis finished with 10 points.

Before that, Pelham traveled to Bessemer City on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The Panthers started the game on fire on offense and matched that with an aggressive defense.

Not much changed in the second quarter, with Pelham continuing to play its style of basketball with efficient offense and lock down defense. At the half, Pelham was up 45-15.

The Panthers kept the pressure going for all four quarters and used an effective second half to leave Bessemer City with a 70-34 win.

The Panthers were led in scoring by Eli Lewis with 12 points and followed by Joe Wimberly, Jordan Henschel, and Dynarian Long with 10.

Pelham will return to action when they host their annual Turkey Classic Tournament, and its first game will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. against Chilton County.

The post Pelham picks up pair of wins over Bessemer City, Prattville Christian appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Last Week’s Picks: 4-0

Overall Record: 107-20

Since the season started, both the Thompson Warriors and Hewitt-Trussville Huskies have had one goal in mind: make it to the state championship game for a chance to win the Class 7A crown.

On Black Friday, one of them will fulfill that dream.

The lone game in Shelby County this week figures to be one of the best games of the season as the top two teams from Class 7A, Region 3 battle it out for a spot in the Super 7 on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

For the Warriors, this is familiar territory. Thompson has made it to the semifinals for seven straight seasons, and every single time, they faced the Hoover Buccaneers in this round and beat them each of the last five years.

That is, until now. Hewitt-Trussville broke that streak by beating Hoover in the second round, and, despite its success in recent years, they are now in the semifinals for the first time since 1996, before the creation of Class 7A.

For each of the last five years, the Huskies have been eliminated by Thompson or Hoover. Now, they have a chance to eliminate both to reach their first state title game since 1992.

However, Thompson has recent success on its side, not just in this round, but against Hewitt-Trussville as well.

The Warriors beat the Huskies 40-14 on Oct. 6 in a game that quickly got out of hand after Thompson found success in the passing game and its defense stifled a high-flying Hewitt offense for its fifth straight win in this series, dating back to 2020.

Even with that lopsided result, consider that Mark Freeman-coached teams tend to play even better in rematches than the first time around. Look no further than last week’s 34-14 win over Vestavia Hills after they beat the Rebels 21-3 in the regular season.

While the Warriors defense allowed for the first time since they played Hewitt-Trussville, the offense made up the difference and posted the second-highest point total that Vestavia had allowed all season, behind, conveniently, Hewitt-Trussville.

All of that should make for a tremendous football game come Friday. These are two teams playing their best ball at the right time and will clash with a shot at a state title on the line. It doesn’t get better than this.

While you could argue that Vestavia Hills posed the bigger threat to Thompson with its stout defense, Hewitt-Trussville’s offensive firepower may make them just as dangerous. Granted, the Huskies defense allows a full touchdown more per game on defense than the Rebels (21.2 vs. 14.4 PPG), but Hewitt outscores Vestavia in offensive points per game 40.3 to 33.0.

Much of that is because of what Peyton Floyd can do in the passing game with his receivers. The reigning 7A Back of the Year has been electric in the air when he is clicking this season, as he was in last week’s 40-7 win over Hoover.

However, Trent Seaborn has proven that he has quite the cannon as well with a plethora of receivers to throw to including Kolby Hearn, Deuce Oliver, Kolben Landrew and Angel Jones. All of them can make plays at any given moment and have different tools to utilize in a variety of situations.

Even with their recent success in the passing game, I think Thompson could easily flip the switch and go for a ball-control attacking style with Michael Dujon and AJ Green to keep Hewitt’s offense off the field and get the defense tired.

The latter is what I expect coach Mark Freeman to try against the Huskies to save the big guns for the right opportunity, but if he decides to go in guns blazing, expect some big numbers from Seaborn and his receivers.

Just like in the first game, though, I think the defense is the ultimate deciding factor. The Warriors have been almost lights out on defense this season, with the unit averaging just 10.2 points allowed, and that includes the 36-point outlier that Clay-Chalkville posted.

Time and time again, we’ve seen that defense wins championships. If this Thompson team is to reach the Super 7, it will be because of a lockdown coverage game by Anquon Fegans and Kaleb Harris while Jayden Davis, Tyler Hicks, Cam Pritchett and the rest of the defense get after Floyd.

It may not be an easy win, but the Warriors have the pieces on both sides of the ball to take care of business and the track record that suggests that they will do so. I’m picking Thompson to pull away and get a shot for a fifth straight state championship. Thompson 35, Hewitt-Trussville 14.

Season stats provided by the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.

The post Semifinals Prediction: Thompson and Hewitt-Trussville battle for Super 7 spot appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

ALABASTER – The Thompson Warriors secured a key win over a county foe on Thursday, Nov. 16 with a 70-66 victory at home over the Oak Mountain Eagles in a tight contest.

The Warriors overcame a big third quarter from the Eagles to tie the game at the end of regulation and get out with an overtime victory.

Thompson had the early edge in the contest and ended the first quarter with an 18-14 lead to go up by four.

That was key in the second quarter as the teams were deadlocked through the period with each side scoring 10 points. That meant that the Warriors took a 28-24 lead into the halftime break.

However, the game completely flipped on its head after the teams came out of the locker room for the second half.

Oak Mountain came flying out in the third quarter, scoring 21 points and holding Thompson to just 10 for the second straight quarter.

That erased the Warriors’ lead and gave the Eagles the advantage, and Oak Mountain led 45-38 going into the fourth quarter.

With the Warriors needing a response to win the game, they came out and delivered. Thompson fired back with a 23-point fourth quarter, and while Oak Mountain kept hitting shots, the Warriors did enough down the stretch to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In overtime, Thompson pulled away after the 61-61 deadlock and overcame the best effort from the Eagles in the extra period to win, 70-66.

Riley Bryant and Jay Green both scored 20 points in the win with Green grabbing five rebounds and Bryant having three rebounds and three assists. DaeShaun Morrissette had 12 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals, and Carson McKenney scored 11 and had five rebounds.

For Oak Mountain, Grey Williams scored 13 points and had three rebounds and two steals, Chase Lamey had 12 points and Gray Plaia scored 10 points and had four rebounds and two steals.

The post Thompson edges out Oak Mountain in overtime thriller appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By NIC YOUNG | Special to the Reporter

TUSCALOOSA – Helena’s turnover woes halted their offense productivity as the Huskies fell to the Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa Patriots 42-7 in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs on Nov. 17.

Helena found themselves in a hole early as a penalty on the game’s opening kick-off put the Huskies at their own 12-yard line.

Things quickly took a turn for the worst as a fumble in the endzone was recovered by Hillcrest, producing the game’s first score to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead.

The next Husky drive began at their own 11-yard line with a promising start. Helena moved up to the Hillcrest 45-yard line before an offensive miscue resulting in a fumble put them behind the sticks. The Huskies never recovered and were forced to punt shortly after.

Hillcrest made quick work of their next drive, finding the end zone in two plays with Decorrion Thomas delivering the score off a 40-yard touchdown run to extend the Patriots’ lead, 14-0.

As the first quarter approached the end, Jordan Washington provided the Helena offense with a much-needed spark running for an 86-yard touchdown to cut the Patriots’ lead 14-7.

The Huskies defense began the second quarter strong, halting the Patriots’ offense and forcing punts on consecutive possessions.

This trend seemed as though it would continue as a series of penalties put the Patriots in a 1st-and-34 situation, but a 40-yard pass from Bryson Kimbrough to Chemar Moore swung all of the momentum into the Patriots’ favor.

Hillcrest would get the score a few plays later off a Kimbrough touchdown run to make the game’s score 21-7 as the half rounded to a close.

Neither team could get their offense going to begin the second half, with both sides conceding punts in every possession of the third quarter.

The Patriots opened the fourth quarter with a quick score from Kahden Smith to give them a commanding 28-7 lead.

The following Helena possession was cut short due to a recovered fumble by the Patriots. This opened the door for Hillcrest to drive down the field and add to their lead as Kimbrough connected with Jamarcus Price making the score 35-7.

Ball security issues continued to plague the Huskies the following possession, this time the result was a scoop and score by the Patriots to close the door and give them a 42-7 lead.

The Huskies finish the season 9-3 overall with a 5-1 region record after making the second round for the first time since 2020 and finishing in second place in the region.

The post Helena falls to Hillcrest as season ends in second round appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Christian Lions’ season came to an end in the second round as the Lions couldn’t keep up with the highly recruited, top-ranked talent of the No. 1 Saraland Spartans in a 51-14 loss.

Despite the loss, Lions coach Matthew Forester kept everything in perspective and took pride in his team’s effort to make it back to the second round after missing out on the playoffs last year and battle with a talented side.

“I’m proud of these seniors,” Forester said. “It’s never the way you want to end, but there’s only one team in 6A that’s going to end with a win and so I’ll be interested to see what happens. Hats off to our guys battling and fighting. They did the best they could, and that’s a stout team over there.”

While the final score was lopsided, Briarwood got the perfect start with a 66-yard pass from Josh Thompson to Caleb Keller to the 3-yard line that made the stands erupt.

Cooper Higgins capped off the quick drive with a touchdown run on the next play, and the Lions led 7-0 just 1:05 into the game to put Saraland behind for just the third time this season.

However, Saraland struck on its first offensive play of the game as KJ Lacey hit Dillion Alfred for a 64-yard catch and run to knot up the score at 7.

After a Grey Reebals first down run, Saraland’s Chris Thompson came up with a fumble recovery to regain possession.

From there, Ryan Williams showed his skills for the Spartans by converting a 4th and 1 with a catch and then making a toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone to give Saraland the 14-7 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Briarwood’s next drive ended in a punt, but the decision to kick it short ended up with Williams bringing the ball back for a punt return touchdown to increase the lead to 21-7.

Another Lions punt then led to a lengthy score by Santae McWilliams Jr., who carried the ball 64 yards for Saraland’s fourth touchdown right as the first quarter ended.

The Spartans then recovered the ensuing Briarwood kickoff, and then McWilliams Jr. punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown to go up 35-7 with 11:02 remaining in the half.

From there, Briarwood found more success on defense as the half drew to a close. The Lions recovered from a 26-yard gain to force a turnover on downs on the next Saraland drive thanks to a fourth down tackle on Lacey by Jack Cornish.

Briarwood then picked off a pass from Lacey on the following Spartans drive, and that helped keep Saraland out of the end zone for the rest of the half to keep the score at 35-7 at the break.

However, Saraland started scoring again in the third quarter and kept the game out of reach. Williams hit the end zone on a 42-yard reverse, and then the Lions held the Spartans to a 29-yard field goal.

Finally, Deshawn Spencer wrapped up Saraland’s scoring with a rushing touchdown to go up 51-7 as the third quarter came to an end.

Briarwood would find the end zone again prior to the end of the game thanks to a solid offensive drive. Thompson found Keller for a first down, and then the Lions signal caller threw a perfectly placed ball into coverage in the end zone for a touchdown to cut the lead to 51-14, which proved to be the final score.

After the game, Forester looked back on a season where the Lions turned around a 3-7 record from 2022, reloaded in key positions and made it back to the second round.

He knew that not everybody expected them to get here, and he chalked that up to the players’ hard work and will to improve, which he hopes will help them succeed in life.

“What these seniors did was pretty remarkable,” Forester said. “Everybody counted them out. Everybody said it’s not going to happen this year, be tough to even make the playoffs. And they battled. They were within eight points of winning the region championship.

“And it was their will every Friday night. But it’s also the will over the summer, show up, wake up early, do all those things. It’s hard to be a football player. It’s not easy. And then you’ve got nights like this that aren’t easy either, but it’s a representation of life.”

While Forester kept the focus on the accomplishments of this year’s team and the seniors, he was excited for the success that he believes Briarwood will have in the future because of what they did this year.

“Right now is the time to honor the seniors,” Forester said. “But as a coach, you’re building a program. It’s not just one team. So, I’m incredibly proud of the ‘23 team and incredibly proud of the seniors, how they’ve worked, and then knowing that the groundwork they’ve laid, the groundwork that past seniors have laid have set us up to be successful over the next couple of years because of their commitment.

“So, I’m excited for the future. And it’s a lot because of what the seniors have done.”

The post Briarwood’s playoff run finishes against Saraland appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By STEPHEN DAWKINS| Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – Thompson exploded out of the locker room to start the second half against Vestavia Hills on Friday, Nov. 17, as the Warriors scored 20 unanswered points to break open a halftime deadlock and win, 34-14.

“For whatever reason, we needed to get to halftime and make a couple of adjustments,” Thompson coach Mark Freeman said. “When we did, we said ‘let’s go score on the first possession and win the game.’ Our plan was to play the first half tight like that and then come out in the second half and do what we do.”

The second-round playoff win keeps alive Thompson’s hopes for a fifth consecutive state championship. THS (10-1) next will host Hewitt-Trussville in the semifinals on Nov. 24, following the Huskies’ 40-7 win over Hoover.

Against Vestavia (9-3), the Warriors were hampered by penalties in the first half. They managed just four first downs, giving the visitors hope that they might break through and advance past the second round for the first time since 2013.

The teams traded punts to start the game, but Vestavia quarterback John Paul Head jump-started the Rebels’ second possession with his arm and his legs as he took a 38-yard run all the way to Thompson’s 3-yard line.

Head then punched it in from the 1 for the first score of the game. Owen Simpson’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:17 on the clock in the first quarter.

The hosts wasted no time in answering. On the second play of the ensuing possession, Kolby Hearn got past his defender, and quarterback Trent Seaborn hit him in stride for a 72-yard touchdown pass. John Allen McGuire’s point-after was good to tie the game at 7-7.

Thompson’s Tyler Hicks and Curtis Oliver-Avery combined to make a third down stop on Vestavia’s next possession, and the Rebels punted it back to THS.

Seaborn carved up the VHHS defense to grab the lead for the Warriors, moving the sticks on passes to Deuce Oliver and Hearn, then finding Angel Jones, who outraced the defense to the front left pylon for the touchdown.

McGuire’s extra point made it 14-7 with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

Head responded with an impressive touchdown drive of his own, converting a third-and-1 on the ground, then passing to Keown Richardson and Cooper Mollison for first downs before heaving one to the end zone that Mollison ran under and held onto the ball in the end zone despite a hit from a Thompson defender.

The game was tied again and would remain so until the second half as penalties derailed two THS drives, and a third-down sack by Thompson’s Chance Strown helped keep Vestavia from threatening the end zone.

The Warriors needed just 1:24 to take the lead for good at the start of the third quarter. Two Seaborn passes, to Hearn and Oliver, advanced the ball to Vestavia’s 35-yard line, and then AJ Green ran it to the 22.

On third-and-1 from the 13, Green took a handoff up the middle, broke through a couple of would-be tacklers and glided into the end zone to make it 21-14.

Thompson added to its lead with a 23-yard field goal by McGuire with 1:33 left in the third quarter, and then another field goal—this one from 29 yards out—to make it 27-14 about one minute into the fourth quarter.

The Thompson defense was flexing at this point in the game, forcing two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs on Vestavia’s second-half possessions.

Anquon Fegans added an exclamation mark with an interception, and Cam Pritchett added another with a sack on a third down.

The scoring concluded on a long pass from Seaborn to Colben Landrew that the sophomore standout grabbed over the top of the defender to make it 34-14.

Thompson now leads the all-time series with Vestavia, 16-14, including the last 10 in a row.

The Warriors also kept alive another streak: not allowing more than 14 points in any game this season other than their lone loss.

The post Thompson flips switch at half to beat Vestavia Hills in quarterfinals appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – The Chelsea Hornets kept their excellent start to the season going in dominant fashion with a 70-30 win over the Calera Eagles on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The 40-point victory came after a pair of impressive victories against the Vestavia Hills Rebels and Pelham Panthers and helped Chelsea start the season undefeated with a 5-0 record.

Chelsea’s defense came out firing in the first half, holding Calera to five points and grabbing six steals.

Haley Trotter scored eight points for Chelsea in the quarter to help the Hornets take a 21-5 lead into the second quarter.

Sadie Schwallie and Sydney Carroll both brought the hustle in the second quarter as Schwallie snatched three steals and Carroll had three steals and three rebounds in the quarter as well.

That gave Chelsea the opportunity to extend its lead, and it did so to go up 38-11 going into the halftime break.

In the third quarter, six different Hornets players scored in a solid 23-point effort. Carroll led the way with six points, and that let Chelsea extend its lead by 16 to 61-18.

From there, the Hornets used their commanding lead to cruise to victory, and Chelsea secured its fifth straight win to start the season.

In the 70-30 win, Trotter led all scorers with 18 points while also grabbing six rebounds and two steals. Caroline Brown had 14 points, five steals and two rebounds.

Carroll had 10 points, four steals and four rebounds, Allie Scott scored nine points and Schwallie had seven points and six steals.

Before that, Chelsea defeated Pelham 62-43 in another solid showing. Trotter scored 19 points and Olivia Pryor had 17 points in the win.

Chelsea also picked up a solid win over a local Class 7A foe with a 43-27 victory over Vestavia Hills. Schwallie led the Hornets with 12 points, Trotter scored 11 and Caroline Brown had nine.

The post Chelsea improves to 5-0 with win over Calera appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – Ahead of the University of Montevallo’s first home dual on Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Thompson Warriors got a chance to shine on the Trustmark Arena mat and earn a big win over the reigning Class 6A state champion McAdory Yellow Jackets, 53-16.

The Warriors jumped ahead to a dominant lead by winning 10 of the first 11 matches and earning falls in many of them, and that helped them secure the early season victory on a neutral site.

Braylon Johnson started the dual off strong, cruising to a 17-3 lead and forcing a technical fall at the 3:16 mark of the 106-pound match.

Skylar Mobley of McAdory won the 113-pound match by a 10-2 major decision, but that one-point deficit would be the closest the Jackets got to leading.

Will Atkinson dominated his 120-pound match, pinning Jalen Howard of McAdory in just 53 seconds, and Austin Owen nearly secured a major decision with a 17-10 win.

Then, Thompson pulled away for the win with four straight pins. Jordan Weltzin won 2:41 into his 132-pound match, and right afterwards, Kiowa Vines and Turner Hutson both secured first-period pins. Henry Betke also earned a pin 2:20 into the second period.

Nick Dempsey took a 15-5 major decision over Jeffery Locke in the 157-pound match, and then Paxton Miller extended the lead to 48-4 with a pin just 1:05 into the match.

From there, McAdory won three of the final four matches, but it wouldn’t matter as Thompson had already secured the victory.

Wyatt Massey of Thompson dropped a 15-3 major decision to Christion Griggs in the 175-pound match, McAdory’s Erik Lessears earned a technical fall with a 22-7 lead at 4:25 in the 190-pound match against Rylan Davis and Timothy Wilson edged out a 7-3 decision over Marley Cholewinski in the 285-pound match.

The Warriors would win one more match in the final portion of the dual, as Avery Clark jumped out to an early lead over Jourdan Godwin to score a technical fall after building up a 16-1 lead just 3:33 into the match.

That closed out a phenomenal day for the Thompson wrestlers, who won 11 matches on the night to start out the season strong with a 53-16 victory.

Beyond securing a dominant win over the reigning state champions, the Thompson Warriors had the chance to showcase their skills to the local wrestling community that had gathered to watch the Montevallo vs. Midway match following their dual and to college coaches.

Montevallo coach Daniel Ownbey said that this combined meet was a phenomenal opportunity for the Thompson and McAdory wrestlers and was even more special given that multiple former Warriors and Jackets now compete for the Falcons.

“I think that giving them an opportunity, to wrestle in a college gym on a college mat in front of a college crowd was definitely something that I think could be a highlight of their high school career,” Ownbey said. “It shows them that they can get up to the next level, being able to wrestle in front of a couple of college coaches and show what they have.

“I think it was just a cool atmosphere. It was a cool idea. I love the fact that both Coach Wilson and Coach Dutton agreed to do it, and it just brought more energy and more electricity and more passion of wrestling to Montevallo today.”

Thompson then kept the momentum rolling with a sweep in their quad match with Fairhope, Foley and Spanish Fort ahead of the Gulf Coast Clash. Thompson beat Fairhope 77-6 before winning 65-18 against Foley, and the Warriors finished out the day with a 78-6 win over Spanish Fort, with Fairhope and Spanish Fort’s lone wins coming off forfeits.

The post Thompson cruises to win over McAdory in season opener at Montevallo appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Helena Huskies kept their solid start to the season going with a 52-39 win over the Calera Eagles at home on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Both teams found moments of success, but in the end, Helena survived a great comeback effort by Calera and came out on top to earn another win under first-year head coach Lake Graham.

Deep baskets by Mallory Rhodes and Isabel Heintz helped Helena establish the tone with an 11-point first quarter. The Huskies then took an 11-5 lead into the second quarter.

After the break, Hannah Satterfield scored eight of her ten points in the second quarter to power the Huskies to 16 more points before halftime.

However, Calera started to find some success from the field as well, and the Eagles were within striking distance down 27-16 at the half.

That was the opening that the Eagles needed to close the gap. Calera countered Helena with an 18-point third quarter while holding the Huskies to just eight points during that timeframe.

That meant Helena led just 35-34 going into the fourth, and the Huskies had to defend a one-point lead down the stretch.

Helena clamped down on defense and only allowed five points from Calera, and they pulled away on offense with six free throws and points from five different scorers.

In the end, Helena held on for a hard-fought 52-39 win in front of its home fans.

Amari Grant was a big key to Helena’s success, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies in both categories.

In addition, Satterfield scored 10 points, Heintz had nine points and Rhodes scored seven while earning four assists.

The defense was another reason why Helena secured the victory, and Satterfield, Hentz and Rhodes played their part with 17 combined steals. Rhodes led the way with a staggering 10 steals, Satterfield had four and Heintz grabbed three to help earn the victory.

The post Helena holds off Calera comeback for gritty victory appeared first on Shelby County Reporter.

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Spain Park Jaguars used a strong second half to put away the Vestavia Hills Rebels in a 50-34 victory at home on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

However, before they took control, they were locked in a tight battle from the opening tip.

The teams were deadlocked down the stretch in the first quarter as defense prevailed early. The Jags and Rebels went into the second quarter tied at seven.

Spain Park still had to work for its points, but the Jags took the lead and held on to their slight advantage as the halftime buzzer drew near. Korbin Long scored five of Spain Park’s 11 points in the second quarter, and the Jags took a 18-13 lead into the locker room.

After the halftime break, Vestavia Hills drew near by cutting the Jags’ lead to one, but Nick Richardson gave Spain Park command of the game with a 3-pointer and a free throw after a made basket.

In all, Richardson had eight points in the third, and that helped Spain Park go up 31-16 going into the fourth quarter.

From there, the Jags locked down on defense and took advantage of the Rebels fouling in an attempt to hold Spain Park scoreless. The Jags went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, including a 7-for-8 performance from the stripe by Long, to pull away and take the 50-34 victory.

Long led the Jags with 19 points, including nine made free throws and a pair of threes. Richardson made a pair of three’s as well as he dropped 15 points.

In addition, Chapman Blevins scored six points and Joshua Fonbah and T.J. Lamar both had four points in the victory.

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