College recruiters were out in force Thursday night at Theodore High School. It was the Theodore coaching debut of four-time state champion Steve Mask. But much of the attention was also focused on a young core of players from Jackson High School, who are going to be attracting attention for years to come.

The final score was a 21-21 tie. But winning wasn’t the top priority in the spring game.

“We’ve been accepted by everyone in Theodore so that’s been great,” Mask said of his transition. “We know expectations are always going to be high. We haven’t peaked.”

Theodore was led by senior Bobby Pruitt, who is being recruited by virtually every college football power in the country. Pruitt, who projects to be a hybrid linebacker/defensive back, had a sack and four tackles for loss.

“It’s been a good spring,” said Pruitt, who also got in a few plays on offense. “It was a little slow early in the spring, but we adapted to coach Mask and it was good.”

The format of the game made it difficult to get much offensive flow. Each team was given 12 offensive plays before giving it over to the other team. Theodore led 7-0 after one possession by each team, with senior Navontay Richardson juking his way down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown run.

The lead stayed that way until late in the game when Jackson sophomore quarterback Landon Duckworth connected with senior Nassir Power on a 73-yard strike deep down the seam.

Theodore took the lead again when senior running back Braxton Clark and the huge Bobcat offensive line took over. Clark had four straight carries of 17, 25, 10 and 8 yards for a touchdown.

With Theodore leading 14-7, the teams moved on to practicing their red zone attacks, with each team getting the ball for 12 plays starting at the opponent’s 20.

Duckworth found Powell on an 18-yard slant to tie the game. Then the Aggies took the lead when Duckworth again hit Powell for a 29-yard score.

Theodore answered the score with its red zone possession. Richardson had a 5-yard TD run on the last play of the game to end the scoring at 21-21.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pound Duckworth, who is still six months shy of his 16th birthday, showed why coaches from across the country are already marveling at his skills.

“I could do way better, but it was a good game,” Duckworth said. “I’ve just been trying to get better every day. I just got back from the Elite 11 camp and the Rivals camp in Atlanta.”

Jackson coach Cody Flournoy was pleased with the effort of his Class 4A Aggies.

“This group we’ve got has been together and been good since Pee Wee football,” Flournoy said. “We knew we would have some trouble up front because Theodore is so good, but we got some great experience here.”

College scouts from Alabama, Colorado, North Alabama and South Carolina were among those in attendance.