Postgame Recap | Mtn. Brook slips past Bob Jones, advances to 7A quarterfinals
Madison, AL – Junior running back A.J. Gates scampered 80 yards late in the third quarter to lift the Mtn. Brook Spartans over the Bob Jones Patriots 24-23 Friday night in the first round of the AHSAA 7A playoffs.
Bob Jones went up 6-0 on the leg of Patriots kicker Jacob Fruehwald. The senior split the uprights from 29 and 25 yards to put the eighth ranked Patriots up 6-0 going into the second quarter.
Gates put the Spartans on top 7-6 two and a half minutes into the second, sprinting into the endzone from the Patriot five yard line. Bob Jones answered back late in the quarter on the legs of Khalil Griffin putting the Patriots back on top by six. Aidan Hood pulled the visitors within four connecting on a 38 yard field goal as time expired on the first half.
Bob Jones took a 13-10 lead into the break.
Griffin widened the Patriot lead to 10, rushing in from inside the five for his second score of the contest.
The Spartan comeback started on the next Mtn. Brook possession as quarterback Hamp Sission called his own number, scoring from the five and pulling the Spartans within a fieldgoal.
Gates completed the Mtn. Brook comeback scoring on a 80 yard dash into the endzone with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Bob Jones marched to the Mtn. Brook two yard line late in the fourth but a false start penalty forced the Patriots to settle for a 25 yard Fruehwald field goal.
After Fruenhwald’s third field goal of the night pulled the Patriots within one, the Spartans were able to put the game on ice in the game’s final dive, converting on three of three third downs.
Sission finished the game with 136 yards through the air, completing 9 of 15 passes and adding 61 yards on the ground. Gates paced the Spartans on the ground running for 113 yards on 9 carries and adding two scores. Receiver Hamp Green snagged 3 Sission passes for 53 yards. Aidan Hood booted a 39 yard field goal and connected on two PAT’s. Senior running back Harold Joiner carried the ball three times for nine yards and hauled in two receptions for 21 yards before being sidelined by an apparent injury late in the first half.
Bob Jones finished the season at 7-4, 6-1 in 7A region 4 play. Each of the Patriots losses came at the hands of top team teams.
Mtn. Brook travels south Friday night for a quarterfinal rematch with the second ranked Thompson Warriors (11-0). The Warriors defeated the Spartans 40-13 in the team’s regular season meeting.
