Spanish Fort wins 5A state championship

AUBURN, Ala. (WALA) - Spanish Fort (14-1) beat McAdory (14-1) 45-14 to claim their second  5A State Championship title in three years.

Quarterback Joel Poe threw three passing touchdowns and ran for one, earning him most valuable player (MVP) honors.

The Toros gained a total of 377 yards to McAdory's 187.

Spanish Fort got off to a rocky start opening with an offensive fumble, but they turned the game around and were soon able to seemingly score at will.

Hundreds of Spanish Fort fans turned out to cheer the Toros on to victory. 

Senior running back Ed Autry had a touchdown in the game.  He says being able to get the win in front of the hometown fans was overwhelming.

“It feels great," Autry said.  "I just, I can’t explain it.  Words can’t explain this right now.  It’s all inside right now.  I’m so jittery, my heart is beating so fast, it’s just crazy."

For Poe, the Toros' offensive success came down to a theory they've been preaching all season.

“We talked about it all year, the only team that can beat us is us, and you saw in the first half we fumbled the first play of the game on offense, and I threw a pick down there in their red zone and they scored on that drive," Poe said.  "But then we came out and we didn’t make those mistakes in the second half and we put [the game] away.”

Head coach Mark Freeman says he couldn't be prouder of the effort.

“I know one thing that we have accomplished this year, we’ve put a group of young men in a situation that I think they are going to be successful people.  They’ve come through a lot, and they’ve seen that things work out for the good, and I just can’t say enough about the kids.”