James Clemens led much of the second half Friday against rival Austin, but the Black Bears rallied for a 41-33 victory at Madison City Schools Stadium.

De’Air Young accounted for all five Austin touchdown with four runs and a 55-yard pass to Maurice Jones with 3:06 to go to put the Black Bears ahead for good.

Austin (6-2 overall, 5-0 in Class 7A, Region 4) has won six straight.

“James Clemens played great,” Austin coach Jeremy Perkins said. “They made a lot of plays and so did we. We made a couple of more than they did tonight, but I’m proud of our guys the way they kept fighting and plugging away.”

The loss drops James Clemens (2-6, 2-3) into a tie for fifth place in the region standings with Sparkman and the Jets trail Bob Jones and Huntsville, both 3-2 in Region 4, by one game with two region contests remaining. The Jets play at Albertville next Friday and host Grissom the following week.

James Clemens again struggled defensively, as the Jets have allowed 38 or more points five times this season.

“We’ve got to grow from it and learn from it,” James Clemens coach Chad McGehee said after Friday’s loss. “I think we’re still in the mix here to get in the playoffs … and we’re going to have to bounce back in the next two weeks.”

James Clemens’ quarterback Gio Lopez threw two touchdown passes, both to Ty Doughty, and added a rushing score for the Jets. Gabe Ballard added two touchdown runs. Stephen Ezell recovered an Austin fumble.

Austin (6-2, 5-0) holds a one-game region lead and has the head-to-head tie-breaker over second-place Florence after beating the Falcons last month. The Black Bears return to Madison to play at Bob Jones next week.