SARALAND — Saraland shook off an early gut-punch and rode a career night from quarterback Jamison Roberts to a 38-14 win over Theodore on Friday night at Spartan Stadium, clinching the program’s third consecutive region championship.
Roberts, a 6-foot-3 junior who has climbed into the ranks of the nation’s top high school quarterbacks, completed 13 of 21 passes for a career-high 310 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 2-ranked Spartans pulled away from Theodore.
The win pushed Saraland to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in 6A Region 1 play, extending several remarkable streaks: 29 consecutive regular-season wins, 25 straight region victories, and a state-leading 38 consecutive home wins.
Theodore delivered the first blow, though. The Bobcats drove the ball down Saraland’s throat on their opening possession, capped by quarterback Crishon Overton’s 26-yard touchdown keeper for a 7-0 lead — the first time all season Saraland had trailed since its season-opening game against Jackson.
From there, Roberts took over. While Theodore’s defense did a solid job limiting explosive plays from Saraland playmaker Deshawn Spencer downfield, Roberts found other answers, particularly tight end Sye Byrd, who blew the game open in the second quarter.
Byrd, who had caught just 12 passes for 156 yards all season entering the game, hauled in three receptions for 103 yards against Theodore, including a spectacular 54-yard touchdown catch that put Saraland ahead 17-7. That score began to separate the two teams, and Saraland carried a commanding 31-7 lead into halftime.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly said. “We hadn’t faced any adversity all year. The first game against Jackson was a tight one but we got hit in the mouth tonight. We got challenged tonight physically and our guys had to show up and make plays. The thing I’m proud of is offensively, we were able to keep pressure on those guys and we’re able to play with great tempo and spread the ball out.”
Roberts added touchdown runs of 11 and 1 yards to go with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Spencer, who finished with seven catches for 89 yards. Jakari Harris scored on a 2-yard run, and Landon Burchfield connected on a 28-yard field goal to round out Saraland’s scoring.
Theodore running back Kendrick Able, ranked third among Class 6A rushers, racked up 133 yards on 19 carries, including a fourth-quarter touchdown run of 10 yards. But after gaining 110 yards on the Bobcats’ first nine carries of the game, Saraland’s defense clamped down, holding Theodore to just 57 yards the rest of the way against what Kelly called statistically the best defense he has had in his 15 years at Saraland.
“I don’t know if you want to see that football team in the playoffs,” Kelly said of Theodore. “They’ve got a game that plays well in November — a very physical, run-based attack. They’ve got an outstanding O-line, running backs and their defense has a lot of guys that can run and play.”
For Theodore coach Steve Mask, the night captured both his team’s promise and its frustration. The Bobcats punished Saraland up front early, only to watch the Spartans regain their footing and build a 31-7 halftime lead in just 27 plays.
“Give Saraland credit, they are what they are,” Mask said. “You give them momentum and then they start running with it and you have a hard time slowing it down. But I think we both have got a chance to play for a while (in the playoffs). I’m disappointed in the fact we didn’t win but we didn’t quit at the half. I thought we played hard the second half and we could have folded it up. I think we got a lot of good football left ahead of us.”
Saraland finished with a 412-178 edge in total offense and controlled the ball for 27 minutes, 48 seconds. With the win, the Spartans secured the region’s No. 1 seed, while Theodore (6-3, 6-1) finished second in the region. Both teams will host first-round playoff games.