CLASS 3A FINALS: Montgomery Academy uses mid-season changes to reach title game
MA coach Robert Johnson shares the Class 3A runner-up trophy with his team after the loss to Piedmont on Thursday at Protective Field. (Tim Gayle)
By DYLAN HURST
The Montgomery Academy Eagles fell just short of earning the AHSAA 3A State Champions, but they still have a lot to be proud of this year.
The Eagles, (11-4, 5-0, 3A-Region 3), were defeated by the Piedmont, (13-2, 7-1, 3A-Region 5), 35-33, on Thursday afternoon at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
“I’m really proud of all of our guys, and it was a heck of a season, but I had a feeling that this game was going to be very close,” said Montgomery Academy head coach Robert Johnson. “We all gave our best, but we just came up short, but I’m still super proud of our guys.”
The Eagles finished with an impressive record, but it doesn’t tell the story of personnel changes, tough losses, and hard-fought wins that this team faced this year.
This season marked their second straight appearance in the 3A State semifinals, where they avenged last season’s loss against the Montgomery Catholic Knights to advance to the championship game.
“When we lost last year [to Catholic], we told ourselves that we were going to make it back to the semifinals and then make it to State,” said junior running back Jashawn Cooper, “We did that, but just didn’t come out with a win.”
Late in the season, junior Thomas Woodard was replaced by senior running back Jamal Cooper at the quarterback position, to give the position a more dual-threat look.
“Not being here last year really motivated us to get to this spot, and we got it to happen,” said Cooper, “We just couldn’t finish it, but it was still a great experience.”
In Region play, the Eagles were undefeated, and finished with a 5-0 record.
However, they faced some tough losses against other non-region teams out of Montgomery, including a three-point loss to Trinity, a 42-0 shutout against Catholic, and a 10-point loss to Alabama Christian.
About halfway through the season, the Eagles traveled to Catholic and were kept from scoring, but in the 3A semifinal rematch, the Eagles played their best defense of the season, winning 10-7 after holding Catholic to only one offensive score late in the game to earn their spot in the 3A title game.
“We told ourselves we would make it back. We didn’t get the win, but we made some plays to put us with a chance,” Cooper said.
This is only the second time in school history that the Eagles have reached the semifinals in consecutive years. The first time happened in 1987 and 1988, where they won their only state championship and reached the semifinals, respectively.