Saraland quarterback K.J. Lacey unloads a pass on the run against St. Paul’s Friday night in Mobile. Lacey, the four-star Texas commitment, was 16-of-29 passing for 335 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 1 Spartans survived a tough test against the Saints, winning 19-14. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
Saraland receiver C.D. Gill stretches for a catch Friday night against St. Paul’s. Gill had seven receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
St. Paul’s Anthony Frasier breaks free for a long gain against Saraland Friday night. Frasier had 93 yards on 15 carries. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
Saraland’s DeShawn Spencer (1) races upfield after catching a pass from K.J. Lacey Friday night against St. Paul’s. Spencer had six receptions for 137 yards. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
MOBILE — The return of K.J. Lacey and two massive fourth-quarter stops by Saraland’s defense helped the No. 1-ranked Spartans avoid getting dragged into the cemetery by the team that refused to die Friday night.
Lacey — playing in his first game since a knee sprain against Spanish Fort a month ago — completed 16 of 29 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns and Saraland turned aside a serious challenge from previously unbeaten St. Paul’s to win 19-14 at E.E. Delaney Stadium and draw near to the 6A Region 1 championship.
“We’re excited to have him back,” Spartans coach Jeff Kelly said of Lacey. “He’s the leader of our football team. We threw the ball a bunch tonight. I thought he did a good job. He made some good throws and they were doing a lot of different things in coverage and he was seeing it really well.”
It took every yard Lacey could pump out to beat the tenacious Saints, who amazingly had a chance to win despite barely registering on the offensive EKG for much of the night. Saraland outgained them 403 yards to 171 and held them to only 1 of 11 third-down conversions.
The Spartans (7-0, 6-0) can win the region championship next week against Murphy. Saraland is 49-3 in region play since 2018 and has won 35 of its last 37 games, including 18 straight regular-season games.
The Spartans seized an early 12-0 lead and seemed on their way to another lopsided victory but St. Paul’s wasn’t about to capitulate.
“A lot of teams would have laid down and our kids came back,” Saints coach Ham Barnett said. “To hold that offense to 19 points, I’m very proud.”
After the two-touchdown lead turned to vapor, Saraland found itself in a precarious position deep into the fourth quarter, trying to keep its head above quicksand while being weighed down with three turnovers and 15 penalties for 128 yards, including two personal fouls that got star defensive lineman Antonio Coleman ejected early in the third quarter and another one on Kelly late in the second quarter for arguing a call.
In the matchup of Class 6A’s No. 2 offense (Saraland) against its No. 3 defense (St. Paul’s), the Saints got both the slower tempo and the close game in the fourth quarter they wanted. It was only the fourth time in the last 37 games the Spartans were held under 30 points.
Kelly praised his team’s fortitude and that of his opponent.
“They’re a great football team,” Kelly said of St. Paul’s. “They’re going to be in the playoffs. I expect them to make a run. They had a great plan. We’re happy to get a win. We felt like we did some good things. We definitely made plenty of mistakes, things that we’ve got to get corrected, things that we’ve got to do better. We’ve got to have fewer penalties and we’ve got to play a cleaner game and we can’t turn it over. I feel good that we were able to overcome all that stuff and still get a win.”
Trailing 19-14, the Saints (6-1, 4-1) forced a punt with 7:17 remaining and drove from their 24 to the Spartans’ 43 before linebacker Jakari Harris stopped St. Paul’s running back Tate Johnston for a yard’s loss on fourth-and-2.
“That was our best running back, our best player, and we run that play with our best player,” Barnett said. “And if we don’t get it, we don’t get it.”
On the next play, Lacey made a supersonic throw across the field to DeShawn Spencer for a 45-yard gain on a wide receiver screen, a consequential play since Lacey lost a fumbled snap to five-star linebacker Tank Jones at St. Paul’s 17 to give the Saints a final chance with 1:13 to go. But it was too far to go.
“I was proud of our kids,” Barnett said. “They never quit. Even at the end, when basically the game seems out of hand, we cause a turnover, get the ball and have a chance to go score.”
But Saraland defensive back Arterus Moffett intercepted Johnston while keeping both feet inbounds with 28 seconds remaining.
“I thought the defense played exceptionally well,” Kelly said. “Our guys on defense played a really complete game and did a good job against them and that’s a big reason we pulled it out.”
Lacey threw touchdown passes of 16 yards to C.D. Gill in the second quarter and Spencer dug a 3-yard scoring pass off the top of the grass at the pylon of the goal line in the third quarter for what proved to be the decisive touchdown. Santae McWilliams added a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter for a 12-0 Spartans lead.
“He could have probably played last week,” Kelly said of Lacey. “But we just wanted to make sure to give it time because I care a lot more about K.J. and his future than I do about a ballgame. We just wanted to be conservative with him.”
Lacey, the four-star Texas commitment who now has 8,102 career passing yards and 98 touchdowns, said he could move around without pain on Monday and was eager to play. While he passed for 335 yards against what he said is the best defense Saraland has faced this year, he also threw a deflected pass intended for Teran Senegal for an interception to Walter Hensley in the end zone in the first quarter and was sacked three times for 24 yards in losses.
“I feel like I should have hit him a little lower,” Lacey said of Senegal. “I hit him in his chest. It just got tipped up and they picked it off. They stuck with our receivers. We’ve got to have time back there. I’ve got to do better, get my teammates the ball, spreading it out, making quicker decisions.”
Barnett said his defense provided a series of different coverage looks and took risks against Gill, Spencer and Ole Miss commitment Dillon Alfred, who was held without a catch. Meanwhile, Gill had seven receptions for 157 yards and Spencer six catches for 137 yards.
“We were doing different looks to make sure they weren’t getting the ball,” Barnett said. “And then sometimes we were leaving two guys open or one guy open and we were OK with that. Like on that last one (the 45-yard screen to Spencer), I called a blitz and called a coverage roll into where their two best players were and I said I don’t care if they throw it to them and score a touchdown. Sometimes you’ve just got to take chances and we did that a few times. Our defense is really good.”
Jones, the 6-4, 245-pound junior linebacker, said St. Paul’s refused to let the Spartans speed the game up.
“We just held their explosive plays,” he said. “They get a lot of explosive plays. And slowing down the clock and slowing down their momentum.”
The Saints cut the lead to 12-7 late in the first half on Jones’ 3-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Johnson after Gill fumbled at the Spartans’ 27 and got the lead down to 19-14 in the third quarter on Johnson’s 8-yard TD pass to Carson Stephens. That 72-yard drive was started by Anthony Frasier’s 53-yard run on the first play after Coleman was ejected.
“We scored a touchdown without (Coleman) on the field, so we did take advantage of it,” Barnett said. “He’s a wrecking ball.”
Barnett said his team wants a rematch with Saraland in the playoffs.
“I would love to,” he said. “But we’ve got a lot to take care of in our region still. We’ve got to get over this loss by Monday and start preparing for McGill. I talked to (center) Hudson Farnell and just said, ‘Hey, man, you have got to get this locker room right for Monday.’ And he was like, ‘Coach, we’re going to see them again.’”
