“We Came for War”: Smyrna’s Hail Mary takes down unbeaten Rockvale
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Smyrna needed 80 yards, two minutes and an answer. AJ Jackson and RJ Williams gave them one.
After falling behind Rockvale by seven with just over two minutes left, Jackson led Smyrna down the field, overcoming multiple sacks before finding Williams for the game-tying touchdown.
Then, after Rockvale quarterback Braxton Parker threw an interception with 15 seconds left while trying to get into field-goal range, Smyrna had one final chance.
Two seconds remained.
Jackson dropped back and found Williams again.
This time, Williams came down with the Hail Mary as the clock hit zero, giving Smyrna (3-2 overall, 3-0 Region 3-6A) a 27-21 victory in a game that lived up to Jackson’s description.
“We came for war,” Jackson said.
The game started with Smyrna creating the first big play. Louis Scott blocked a Rockvale punt, and Smyrna turned it into a scoop-and-score to take the early lead.
Rockvale (4-1, 2-1) answered with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Braxton Parker, but Jackson responded with a rushing touchdown of his own before halftime.
The Rockets then found their footing in the second half, with Romeo George and Jamarcus Brown each scoring rushing touchdowns to put Rockvale ahead by seven with just over two minutes remaining.
Smyrna had little room for error.
Jackson’s tying drive got off to a rough start as Rockvale’s defense brought him down multiple times. But Smyrna kept moving, eventually finding Williams for the touchdown that tied the game and kept the night alive.
“It comes down to my fundamentals, when I’m beat and bruised up,” Jackson said. “It’s just the offseason. We’ve been doing this since 7-on-7, middle school really, so I just trusted him and he believed in me.”
Williams wasn’t finished.
After Smyrna’s defense forced the interception, the offense had two seconds to make something happen.
Jackson trusted his receiver once again.
“I knew someone on Smyrna had to go get it,” Williams said. “Coach told us it was going to be a four-quarter ball game, and it definitely was that.”
Williams went up and got it.
For Smyrna, the final two minutes weren’t about playing a perfect game. They were about refusing to let the game end.
“I told him keep his head up, we are going to push through it. We have another down,” Williams said.
Jackson said that mentality is part of what makes Smyrna different.
“It’s just in us, it’s in Smyrna,” Jackson said. “They were talking about it going to be a battle. I’m not gonna lie, we came for war.”
Smyrna didn’t just survive the war.
It won it on the final play.
