Alabama high school football great Jack Hayes, Piedmont seniors leave unforgettable mark

AUBURN − Piedmont lost by 17 points to St. James in the Alabama high school football Class 3A state championship, but there was a familiar fourth-quarter moment that could've put Piedmont on the other side of the win column.

Senior quarterback Jack Hayes scored his fourth touchdown on the first play of the quarter to cut the St. James lead to 31-28.

Like so many times in the same situation over the last four seasons, Piedmont rallied or put away games. But two plays from scrimmage later, St. James three-star quarterback KJ Jackson tossed a 93-yard touchdown to Ethan Beard to stretch the lead.

Piedmont punted on its next possession, and Jackson and Beard connected for a 53-yard score less than two minutes after the 93-yard touchdown.

St. James won 45-28 to capture its first state championship and prevent Piedmont from its third in four seasons.

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"I called Jack over there after we scored to male the score 31-28," Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. "I said, 'Perfect scenario here. We've got them pinned deep, we stop them, we get this thing, we run about seven, eight minutes off the clock and win this game.' The first down went our way. Second down I think might have been the down when they hit the big pass play."

The 51-8 record Piedmont accumulated during Hayes' four years starting does not stop the pain of falling in the last game for Piedmont seniors. But Smith and his Bulldogs find solace in the history and moments they made.

Hayes, in 60 career starts, became the AHSAA all-time career leader in total offense (15,103 yards), touchdowns accounted for (223), passing yards (11,024) and touchdowns (159).

Piedmont won state championships with Hayes at quarterback in 2019 and 2021 and made the semifinals all four seasons.

The Bulldogs had the same results in the four years prior to Hayes' 2019 freshman season.

Hayes and his senior class maintained the standard but raised the profile with his record-setting career. The championship loss can't make Piedmont and Hayes' run any less memorable.

Hayes' goal entering high school was just to win one championship and play college football. He doesn't have a Division I offer and is committed to Snead State for baseball.

"I remember the way I felt after the (2018 championship) game (loss as an eighth-grade backup), and I didn't want to feel it again," Hayes said. "I have the same feeling right now, but it's a little bit worse because its my senior year. It made me want to be on top and strive to be the best."

Smith knew Hayes would be a good football player. He'd be a liar, though, if he guessed Hayes would create a legacy as arguably the most decorated player in Alabama high school football history.

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"Got to spend a lot of time with him at the ball fields with him in little league and pee-wee football and Little League baseball," Smith said. "Watching how those guys competed all the time, I knew it was going to be fun group to coach. ... I'd love to tell you I envisioned how it would go over the four-year high school career for them. But you could tell from an early age that it was a special group of kids."

Hayes and seniors like Brody Epps and Sloan Smith grew up playing together. Sloan Smith reflected on the unforgettable years on varsity and times before it.

"You make friendships and and spend so much time in the locker room, practice," he said. "You don't realize how much time you really spend together. That’s coming to an end and things are going to change, but the past four years have been the ones that I'll never forget. It’s bigger than football. ... It's just the friendships and the bonds that you developed. They're things you never forget."

Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: AHSAA football playoffs: Jack Hayes, Piedmont seniors leave mark