MADISON — James Clemens football (1-1) came up short 18-13 against Mountain Brook (1-1) last Thursday night at Madison City Stadium.

The Jets defense kept the team in the game late, but three interceptions by quarterback Ty Marsh haunted James Clemens in the end.

Clad in their striking “Jet Blue” uniforms with matching helmets, James Clemens did battle with the Spartans from Birmingham.

Mountain Brook wasted no time causing a safety to go up 2-0 on a punt block at 10:16 in the first quarter.

The Spartans used the free kick to start a drive on the Jets’ 43-yard line which led to an 8-yard rushing touchdown by running back Cole Gamble to push the Mountain Brook advantage to 9-0 at the 8:02 mark of the opening quarter.

A Marsh interception allowed the Spartans to tack on three more points with a 21-yard field goal to go up 12-0 with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.

As the first half progressed, the game became a defensive struggle as the Jets began to quiet the Mountain Brook offense time after time.

With 2:55 to play in the second quarter, Marsh would just miss his man Logan Eggart in the middle of the endzone and then throw his second interception of the game to Clyde Beavers on the next play.

James Clemens needed a spark because the defense was standing strong against Mountain Brook.

Just before the end of the first half, the Jets found that moment to propel them back into this game.

With 54.9 to play in the second quarter, Ty Doughty returned a punt of 42 yards for the much-needed touchdown to make the score 12-7 Spartans at the half.

Mountain Brook responded at the beginning of the third quarter with a touchdown drive that culminated with a 4-yard TD on a sweep by Gamble with 10:05 on the clock to make the score 18-7 because of a missed PAT.

The Jets found the endzone with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Marsh connected with teammate Eggart for a touchdown to draw closer to the Spartans at 18-13.

Mountain Brook had an opportunity to add to its lead with 6:58 to play in the game with a 33-yard field goal attempt, but it was blocked by James Clemens.

With time running out, Marsh and company tried to move the Jets down the field for a go-ahead touchdown, but the drive stalled out near midfield with a turnover on downs.

While this sent many of the James Clemens fans headed for the exits, there was still a sliver of hope for the Jets if they could just get the ball back.

With 1:05 remaining, Mountain Brook turned the ball over on downs to James Clemens at their own 11-yard line.

It was an uphill climb with no timeouts for the boys in blue.

It all came unraveled for James Clemens with 30 seconds left when Marsh floated a ball across the field that found the hands of a diving Spartan defender Hampton King to seal the game for Mountain Brook.

James Clemens is back in action on Friday when it faces bitter rival Bob Jones at Madison City Stadium.