Round One goes to Tigers

UPDATED: Cleburne County uses ball control to erase early deficit, defeat No. 4 Jacksonville

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE — The first roll through the gauntlet that’s the upper division of Class 4A Region 6 went to Cleburne County Friday night.

In a classic example of it’s not how you start but how you finish, the Tigers rallied from a two-touchdown deficit before anybody settled in to take down fourth-ranked Jacksonville 24-14.

It was the first in a series of games this month among the Tigers, Golden Eagles and third-ranked Saks to determine the region champion. While things could get real interesting depending on the outcome of what’s left, the sense is Friday’s loser would like be looking at region No. 3, while Saks and now Cleburne County will be playing for 1 and 2.

“We knew coming into the game it was three teams at the top,” Tigers quarterback Brady Padgett said. “We knew if we could win this one we’d have a chance to be first in the (region) and host the playoffs.

“We know now we have a good chance to host a home playoff game no matter what, we just have to take care of the rest of the year. But we knew we had to come in here and win (first).”

The Tigers (5-1, 4-0) did it by resisting the urge to get it back quick after falling behind 14-0 seven minutes into the game.

The Golden Eagles (6-1, 3-1) couldn’t have started better. Their first three plays from scrimmage, each involving one of their top skill players, went for 40, 22 and 11 yards in 37 seconds to produce the first of Tae Ackles’ two touchdowns. His second score, which came after a misplayed punt gave them a short field, gave them a 14-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Jacksonville had six first downs and 153 total yards in those first seven minutes, but the Golden Eagles couldn’t maintain that pace. Or at least Cleburne County wouldn’t let them.

The Golden Eagles ran only 14 plays over the next 25 minutes of game clock. They had only six first downs and 85 net yards the rest of the game.

“I don’t ever think starting fast is a bad thing,” Jacksonville coach Clint Smith said. “We came out of the gate really playing well. I thought our kids competed, they played hard, but I think the biggest thing the second half, especially the fourth quarter, we couldn’t get off the field defensively.

“Hats off to them; they played a great game. I felt like our kids played hard, they left it out there, but we came up short tonight. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but we will come back.”

Actually, the Tigers anticipated Jacksonville’s fast start. And even coach Michael Shortt acknowledged the Golden Eagles’ speed created some early miscommunication within his defense.

What they would do about it would be key to their success.

Instead of filling the air with footballs in an attempt to get right back in the game, the Tigers kept it close to the ground. They used nearly all of the final seven minutes of the second quarter to score their first touchdown, an 11-yard pass from Brady Padgett to a leaping Jeremiah Blake with 25 seconds left in the half. It was from the point of that drive, Shortt said, his offensive line took over the game.

And it was a crucial score because the Tigers got the ball to start the second half. They didn’t score, but they ate up more than five minutes.

“I knew it would happen all week because we hadn’t seen that kind of speed since Game One against Munford and they’d probably get a fast start,” Padgett said. “It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish, and that’s what we did.

“We knew our game, we knew what we were gonna do. We did it my sophomore year; we got down 21-0, 21-7 at the half, came back in the second half, got under center, ran the ball and we persevered and came back and won it like we did tonight.”

And while the offense was on the move, the defense was doing its part. Chris Chappell stopped Jacksonville quarterback Quen Veasley on third-and-inches forcing a Jacksonville punt, setting up the Tigers’ go-ahead drive. That score came when Padgett found the end zone from 2 yards out with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

Chad Brown and Sam Cooper threw Ackles for a 5-yard loss on fourth inches later in the quarter that sent the Tigers off on another time-consuming drive. This one used up more than seven minutes of the fourth quarter and was capped by Cole Corkren’s 2-yard touchdown run.

Corkren was a punishing runner in the fourth quarter, going for 48 of his 60 yards in the quarter. Josh Horn rushed for 70 yards in the game.

“Against a team with a lot of explosive players that are all over the field we made some plays tonight,” Shortt said. “We made the plays we have to make. To win a region championship you’ve got to make some plays.”

The Tigers scored their first points on a 42-yard David Jacks field goal. It was the honorable mention all-state kicker’s second kick – and first field goal attempt – in his first game back from knee surgery after tearing his ACL in the second round of last year’s baseball playoffs. He made three field goals from 50 in warm-ups.

“That was a pretty good feeling,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure, but it feels wonderful (to make it).”

CC Jax
First downs 20 12
Rushes-yds 52-215 24-154
C-A-I 6-13-0 13-19-1
Passing yds 85 84
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Punts-avg 2-39.0 4-31.8
Penalties-yds 2-10 3-15

Cleburne County 3 7 7 7 — 24
Jacksonville 14 0 0 0 — 14

J – Tae Ackles 11 run (Jose Ortiz kick)
J – Ackles 15 run (Ortiz kick)
C – David Jacks 42 FG
C – Jeremiah Blake 11 pass from Brady Padgett (Jacks kick)
C – Padgett 2 run (Jacks kick)
C – Cole Corkren (Jacks kick)

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