Saraland quarterback K.J. Lacey scrambles for yardage as Parker’s Jourdin Crawford closes the gap during the Class 6A state championship game at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. The Spartans fell 28-17. (Helen Joyce/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
BIRMINGHAM — Saraland fell short of winning the state championship for the second straight year. K.J. Lacey fell short of becoming the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s all-time leading passer. The Spartans fell underneath nearly a half-ton of major college defensive linemen and could never extricate themselves.
But No. 1-ranked Saraland’s 28-17 loss to No. 2 Parker in the Class 6A Super 7 finals Friday night at Protective Stadium cannot ruin what the Spartans have done to become the winningest program in their class (62-9) over the last five years, coach Jeff Kelly said in the aftermath of the defeat.
“It’s a tough night,” said Kelly, whose team was staggered early, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter — the first time this season it has trailed — only to rally to make it 21-14 at halftime and 21-17 late in the third quarter before Na’eem Offord’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:37 remaining screwed down the Thundering Herd’s victory.
“I’m proud of our guys and the legacy that each and every one of our seniors have left on me as a person, on our school, on our community, on our program,” Kelly said. “These guys are absolute warriors. These guys are absolute winners. The things they’ve done over the last three or four years, people will not forget for many, many years. They’ve made me better as a person. I’m so proud to just watch them grow as young men. I can walk away from the game tonight taking total pride in how hard these young men laid it on the line. We came up short but everybody knows Saraland and I trust everybody respects Saraland because of the young men that I get the privilege to coach every week.”
Saraland (13-1) — which was denied the first undefeated season in school history and lost in the Super 7 finals for the second time in three years — had its chances to take control of the game against Parker (14-1), driving into Herd territory three times in the third quarter but extracting only three points on Tucker Singleton’s 23-yard field to make it 21-17.
On that series, the Spartans had first-and-goal at the 5 and pushed to a fourth-and-goal at the 1 before a false start forced Singleton’s field goal.
“There was a couple plays I thought that really had a chance to turn the tide there in the second half,” Kelly said. “If we could have punched it in right there when we kicked the field goal, we had a chance to tie it. There was a situation there that caused us to flinch just a bit. That was unfortunate.”
But the ominous signs of Saraland’s fate that had been gathering in the sobering chill — the constant wear and tear inflicted by Parker’s offensive and defensive lines — came to the forefront at the end of the third quarter, when Offord gouged out a 27-yard run up the middle to convert a third-and-8. At that point, the Herd had a massive 197 yards to 26 advantage on the ground.
The cold — it was 34 degrees at kickoff — and the Spartans’ offense, which came into the game leading Class 6A in scoring at 43 points per game, mattered little to Parker, which is generally considered to have the state’s toughest defense. It is centered around five Power 4 prospects in five-star cornerback Offord (Oregon, the No. 3 cornerback in the U.S.), three-star safety Timothy Merritt (Tennessee, No. 50 U.S.), three-star edge rusher Caleb Smith (Washington, No. 92 U.S.), four-star defensive lineman Vodney Cleveland (committed to Alabama, No. 6 U.S.) and four-star defensive lineman Jourdin Crawford (Auburn, No. 15 U.S.), who had 4.5 of the Herd’s 10 tackles for losses, three sacks and, wrapped in white against the frigid night air, resembled the Abominable Snowman on a rampage.
“We have a lot of talent but they work hard with this talent,” Parker coach Frank Warren said. “They’re going to be in college on Saturdays soon and they’re probably gonna be in the NFL. These guys are always gonna be remembered as champions and first in Parker history and you can’t take that from them.”
Nor could Saraland or anyone else block them. The Spartans’ offensive linemen might have had better success trying to uproot 100-year-old oak trees or move the stadium’s stanchions with their bare hands.
“Scheme-wise was not the difficult part,” Kelly said. “The difficult part was dealing with the young men on their defensive front, There was constant pressure. They’re outstanding players. They’re tough and I thought our offensive line battled but I thought (Parker) did a great job. … They have an incredibly talented team and they did a great job tonight. They made it tough on us on both sides of the ball. They were a physical team. They earned the win tonight.”
Lacey also paid tribute to the Herd even as he tried to shake off the effects of six sacks.
“They’re sending a lot at us and they can’t block everybody,” Lacey said. “I respect those guys. You can’t simulate that in practice.”
The irrepressible Lacey fell 40 yards short of becoming the AHSAA’s all-time leading passer, completing 11 of 24 passes for 226 yards, including touchdown throws of 39 and 37 yards to Deshawn Spencer. The Texas signee finished his high school career with 10,985 yards and 132 TDs and was 39-3 as the starter.
“I never really called myself the best quarterback because I just respect the people that came before me in the state,” Lacey said. “I feel like I did what I had to do. I left my mark on the state.”
Kelly said Lacey didn’t need the record to prove he is the best high school quarterback in Alabama history.
“K.J. showed great poise under relentless pressure tonight,” Kelly said. “I don’t know what his numbers and all were and K.J. will tell you that wasn’t a thought. He never mentioned (the record) this week. But K.J. should go down as the best quarterback to come through Alabama. I think his numbers prove it. You look at the short games that he’s played over the last three years and I’m curious how many times in the second half that he was over there with me on the bench. He shattered everything. Quarterbacks are always judged at the end of the day at every level about winning or losing and K.J.’s an absolute winner. He’s one of the best to ever strap it on and play.”
But not even Lacey, who was never able to set his feet and throw, was able to conjure a comeback and Warren never got to a point where he felt the Spartans wriggling out of his team’s grasp.
“Saraland’s a great team,” he said. “I just feel like we’re a physical team. It was cold. I tell people that the running game will travel and defense will travel every time.”
The Herd rushed for 252 yards, 167 more than Saraland was allowing per game, while holding the Spartans to 26. In the fourth quarter, Parker outgained Saraland 55 yards to zero.
That was when the Herd methodically and without pretense finally broke the Spartans’ defense and put its first Blue Map in its trophy case with a 12-play instrument of slow torture that used six minutes of the fourth quarter and chewed up all 43 yards on the ground.
Saraland finally appeared to have the upper hand when it fought Parker into a fourth-and-9 at the 18 but Merritt, in at quarterback and wearing cleats that glittered in the bright stadium lights, faked a jet sweep to Offord going right, then followed the 315-pound Crawford downhill and left for a 15-yard gain and a crucial first down.
Offord tumbled into the end zone two plays later.
“Went to Oregon, focused on state, we won,” Offord succinctly summed up his week after running for 98 yards on 16 carries, including a 15-yard TD run to give the Herd a 21-7 lead late in the first half.
Warren said he never thought about trying a field goal on fourth-and-long.
“I knew they were going to have to stop us,” Warren said. “I knew people were going to go to Na’eem with the fake. I knew that play was going to work. We scored on the first drive with that play.”
The Spartans, who had not trailed all season, fell behind 14-0 and 21-7 before Spencer caught TD passes of 37 and 39 yards from Lacey to make it 21-14 at halftime.
Parker controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half, strangled Saraland’s running game and scored on its first two possessions. At one point, the Herd had outgained the Spartans 152 yards to 8.
Parker had sustained drives of 65, 62 and 69 yards for touchdowns in the first half.
Merritt’s 14-yard scoring run on a third-and-14 after faking a jet sweep to Offord completed the first drive that kept the ball away from Lacey and Saraland for 5½ minutes.
Parker converted a second-and-15 with a 26-yard pass from Dylan Reese to Kentrell Davis, setting up Merritt’s 6-yard TD run for a 14-0 lead.
Lacey often kept plays alive by scrambling away from pressure and showed the Spartans were willing to challenge Offord and Merritt on deep shots. Although Teren Senegal dropped a long ball from Lacey after beating a defender, the two TD passes to Spencer resuscitated Saraland.
Offord’s 15-yard scoring run made it 21-7 late in the first half but Lacey led a 65-yard drive in 56 seconds, culminating with Spencer’s spectacular 37-yard TD catch over Offord and Joseph Holt in the end zone to make it 21-14. Lacey backpeddled, then stepped up away from the pressure and hurled the ball to Spencer, who grabbed the ball between both defenders while Offord floated over his back.
Spencer, who has emerged as the Spartans’ next star receiver, did not hold Offord in awe.
“Watching film (from last week’s semifinals), I kind of seen how they were just taking him on,” Spencer said. “I kind of had an idea in my mind already from just watching film and practicing and stuff like that that he was going to be following me over the field.”
Lacey attacked him accordingly.
“He hadn’t let up a lot of big plays this year,” Lacey said. “But I’m never really scared to throw it to anybody, no matter who it is, how many stars, how good they’re supposed to be.”
