Spain Park QB Brock Bradley completed 13 of 21 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, continuing his spectacular start to the season, in pulling out a dramatic 28-26 victory at Helena last Friday in their first Class 6A, Region 3 game of the season.By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Every now and then, Spain Park junior quarterback Brock Bradley might be found playing College Football 25 on his PlayStation 5.
“It’s cool to kind of play with some of the guys I know now,” Bradley said. “Otherwise, I’m so busy working out or watching (football game) film and something like that. But if I ever get a chance to get on the sticks, I do (play) a little bit.”
In the Jaguars’ second game this season, Bradley was at the controls of a real-life game. This was no virtual venue but against crosstown rival Hoover at the Hoover Met.
Bradley and his mates outlasted rival Hoover 39-37 in a back-and-forth affair that left fans of both programs dizzy and the Spain Park faithful delirious with delight.
Bradley was brilliant, completing 17 of 24 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. That included the game-winner on a 9-yard touchdown toss to Corey Barber in the game’s final minute.
“Man, that was a good game,” Bradley said. “It came down to the end. Credit to our coaching staff and the guys up front for protecting me back there. Good teams find a way to win so we did that.”
Spain Park coach Tim Vakakes laughs as he remembers the topsy-turvy contest.
“It was a wild one,” Vakakes said. “There was a lot of emotion. They jumped out on us quick and then we came back and scored four unanswered. Then they came back and scored a couple unanswered.
“It was just a heck of a ballgame between two good football teams and two great communities and great schools. You hated somebody had to lose that one.”
Bradley never lost hope that the Jags would come out on top.
“We were kind of behind the eight ball there with a minute or two left,” he said. “That’s a 2-minute drill that we practice all the time. Just having that experience and knowing I’ve got my guys up front, to know I’ve got those guys around me, we knew we were going to drive it down and give it our best shot.”
Despite the rivals having played one another 23 times since 2002 and three times in the state playoffs, this is a game that might not have happened this year. Spain Park was reclassified from Class 7A to 6A so the squads were no longer required to meet as region rivals.
“When we realized we were going to 6A, we had a big team meeting about it and one thing they asked was, ‘Coach, can we still play Hoover?’” Vakakes recalled. “I said, ‘Absolutely. We’re not going to not play Hoover.’”
The coach gave his squad the choice of where the game would be played. He figured the seniors would want another game at home. He was wrong.
“They were adamant,” he said. “They wanted to go to The Met. They said, ‘Coach, we wanna go to The Met.’ That’s what we worked out.”
Only two times previously had Spain Park beaten Hoover on the field, and one on-field loss – 23-7 in 2007 – was reversed by forfeit. The prior on-field Jaguar wins over the Bucs – regular season and postseason in 2015 – came at Jaguar Stadium on Bob Finley Field.
Perhaps that’s why Bradley and company insisted that the continuation of the rivalry be in what had previously been Spain Park’s temple of doom.
“We looked at The Met as an opportunity and we seized it,” Bradley said. “Credit to this coaching staff and this whole team and the guys I’ve got around me. I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself. It takes everyone to be bought in and we were bought in to get that win.”
After an off week following the victory, the undefeated Jags (3-0) pulled out a dramatic 28-26 victory at Helena last Friday in their first Class 6A, Region 3 game of the season.
Bradley completed 13 of 21 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, continuing his spectacular start to the season.
In the Jags’ opener, Bradley threw for 243 yards passing and five touchdowns as he completed 9 of 15 passes in Spain Park’s 38-7 rout of Sparkman.
Clemson-Bound
Bradley recently committed to Clemson after having received his first collegiate offer when he was in the eighth grade. He’s toured several college campuses the past three or four years, with several visits to Clemson.
“They were in on me early and once they pulled the trigger, I kind of knew that’s where I wanted to be,” Bradley said. “I felt very comfortable about what that coaching staff was able to present to me. And who doesn’t want to play for coach (Dabo) Sweeney? I feel like he’s one of the best in college football.”
Vakakes feels just as strongly about what Bradley brings to the Jaguars.
“He’s confident and he kind of makes us tick,” Vakakes said. “There’s not a quarterback anywhere in America I’d rather have behind the center than Brock Bradley.”
Bradley will look to keep the Jags ticking this Friday when Spain Park hosts Benjamin Russell in another region game.
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