Pike Road becomes Mr. Roberts’ neighborhood: Saraland QB Jamison Roberts and wideout Deshawn Spencer torch Patriots, 56-32

 

 

 

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The Spartans scored on nine of 10 possessions, with Roberts’ non-injurious interception in the first quarter marking the only time he seemed ordinary. Another completion was flagged because of an ineligible receiver downfield; presumably, Roberts could have completed passes to both if he had been given two balls. Saraland didn’t punt. The sublime execution and play calling allowed the Spartans to convert five first-and-10s, a first-and-15, a first-and goal at the 14, a second-and-7, a pair of second-and-8s, a second-and-9 and a second-and-11, a third-and-10 and two fourth downs.

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By JIMMY WIGFIELD

PIKE ROAD — Saraland quarterback Jamison Roberts said he watched more video before playing Pike Road than at any time he can remember.

“I took my preparation very seriously this week,” Roberts said. “I watched more film than I’ve watched all the rest of the games.”

All that study (he has a 4.2 GPA) did not make Jamo a dull boy, nor did it dull the machete he came out of the fog swinging on Friday night. As a result, Roberts and wideout Deshawn Spencer proceeded to assemble a highlight reel of their own that would stretch out to about the length of six football fields. By the time the season is over with what could be an unprecedented fourth straight Super 7 appearance, the Spartans could end up making a new holiday video entitled: “It’s A Wonderful Life (when Mr. Football lives in Saraland).”

Roberts and Spencer took turns dismembering the No. 7-ranked Patriots’ defense in a 56-32 victory that made statisticians feel as if they had an early Christmas.

Roberts completed 20 of 25 passes for a career-high 353 yards and four touchdowns, all of them to the mercurial Spencer, who scored five times, as the No. 2-ranked Spartans unpacked 617 yards of total offense in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

Roberts — who raced back to Mobile, took a shower and caught a 5 a.m. flight for a recruiting trip to Oklahoma Saturday, which paid off with a scholarship offer from the Sooners — spun TD passes of 30, 14, 34 and 72 yards to Spencer, who had nine catches for 212 yards and rushed for 101 yards on nine carries, including a 43-yard scoring run.

Roberts added 92 yards on 13 carries, often stepping up in the pocket to elude Pike Road’s pass rush, and scored on runs of 1 yard and 2 yards for Saraland (12-0), which hosts No. 4 Benjamin Russell (12-1) in the semifinals Friday.

 

Not one but two Mr. Footballs

 

Former Saraland superstars Ryan Williams and K.J. Lacey have won the last three Mr. Footballs and Roberts or Spencer could give the Spartans four in a row if voters haven’t developed Saraland fatigue.

God knows defenses have.

“I think I’ve got two great Mr. Football candidates and you can make great cases for both of them,” Spartans coach Jeff Kelly said. “Jamison showed amazing things tonight. I thought he made some great plays. I thought Deshawn showed why he’s probably the best player in the state. That was as good an offensive performance as we’ve had in a long time.”

Roberts — who has the best quarterback rating statewide (146) — has completed 75% of his passes for 2,815 yards and 32 TDs this season. Spencer, the No. 1 receiver in Class 6A, has 76 receptions for 1,386 yards and 20 TDs and is averaging 10.3 yards per carry.

“He’s such a student of the game,” Kelly said of Roberts. “He studies, he works, it’s important to him. You know it matters. He’s a leader. The teammates around him respect him and follow him. When you get out here under the lights in big moments, you make plays.”

Roberts — who is averaging 6½ yards per carry with 19 TD runs — has an innate sense of when to pull the ball down, Kelly said.

“He’s doing a good job when they drop those defenders back to cover and instead of just throwing it away, he’s able to keep the play alive,” Kelly said. “He made some big throws on the scramble tonight but he was also able, when it was all covered, to go get six or seven yards. And when you as a play caller can call second-and-3, I can do a lot of things. Most of it was just him feeling what the defense was giving him.”

Saraland averaged 8.3 yards on first down with a 19-11 run/pass ratio. Roberts had eight carries for 63 yards on first down.

Pike Road coach Granger Shook was more impressed with the damage Roberts did on the ground.

“He is a great player,” Shook said. “I thought he was the difference tonight with his legs. He made some great throws but he also extended a lot of plays. The good Lord blessed him with a lot of ability.”

Spencer, who has committed to Duke but is still being pursued by Auburn, among others, also believes in intense film study but he and Roberts seem to have football telepathy.

“The entire week of preparing, it comes from diving deep into the film room or even at home,” Spencer said. “Me and Jamo connected like we always do. He sees something, I see something.”

 

Sublime execution

 

It was the third straight year Saraland decisively whipped Pike Road in the playoffs — the scores were 46-7, 47-12 and 56-32 — and the third straight time a Spartans quarterback passed for more than 300 yards against the Patriots.

While there was an abundance of big plays, Saraland unrolled a bunch of long, sustained drives (71, 54, 79, 95, 64 and 65 yards) and kept the ball for 31:39.

But the 95-yard drive took just two minutes at the end of the first half and ended when Spencer reached up to snare a 34-yard TD pass from Roberts in the rear of the end zone while falling backward after separating from defender Omari Smith, who came back to catch three scoring passes himself in the second half.

“Coach said not to panic,” Roberts said. “He said give your best player a shot and I saw Deshawn open down the field and he’s known for making crazy catches. I just threw it up and he came down with it.”

The Spartans led 28-0 at halftime before Pike Road (10-3) got competitive in the second half. In the first half, Saraland outgained the Patriots 351 yards to 37 and had 16 first downs to Pike Road’s 3.

The Spartans scored on nine of 10 possessions, with Roberts’ non-injurious interception in the first quarter marking the only time he seemed ordinary. Another completion was flagged because of an ineligible receiver downfield; presumably, Roberts could have completed passes to both if he had been given two balls to throw. Saraland didn’t punt.

The sublime execution and play calling allowed the Spartans to convert five first-and-10s, a first-and-15, a first-and goal at the 14, a second-and-7, a pair of second-and-8s, a second-and-9 and a second-and-11, a third-and-10 and a couple of fourth downs.

“We had balance and balance to us is not necessarily a 50-50 run/pass,” Kelly said. “It’s being able to do both when you want to and we were able to do that.”

Shook said the loss of three injured defensive starters, including Jordan Holmes, one of Class 6A’s best defensive backs, and three-star linebacker Braylon Outlaw, came at the wrong time as Saraland improved to 91-0 all-time when scoring 40-plus points.

“We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes in the first half but that’s a testament to what coach Kelly does over there,” said Shook, whose defense was ranked No. 2 against the score in Class 6A at 8.1 points per game before being burned to the ground. “Alignment was a big issue but they have great players.”

The injuries were of little consequence to the Spartans, who have Class 6A’s best record (74-9) in the last six seasons.

“Every team’s here for a reason,” said linebacker Jakari Harris, who had an interception. “They have an amazing run game, they’re tough, they’re big. They didn’t give up after they were down.”

 

Beatdown of doubters

 

Kelly said he isn’t concerned about his defense, which is giving up 29 points per game in the playoffs after allowing just 61 in nine regular-season games.

“We were up a bunch of points in the second half and we kind of got soft on some things and they hit some plays,” Kelly said. “They’ve got good players. We’ve got an outstanding defense.”

Those who should be concerned are those who doubted Saraland could again challenge for a Blue Map after losing Lacey and perhaps the most talented senior core in school history last year.

“That’s really what motivates us,” Spencer said. “It’s always good to prove people wrong.”

The naysayers better get used to it, Roberts said.

“We’ve been doubted since the first game of the season because of all the talent we lost,” he said, “but we’re here to stay.”