MBHS Spartan football recaps

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Game 1, 8/28

MOUNTAIN BROOK 16

HUNTSVILLE 14

Harrison Pyburn’s 4-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter gave the Spartans the lead but it was a defensive play by Ford Alexander that sealed Mountain Brook’s stirring season-opening victory against Huntsville.

“I can’t think right now. I have no words,” the Spartans’ senior defensive end said after the Spartans rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat the Panthers at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans lost 22-21 to the Panthers last year when Huntsville kicked a field goal with three seconds remaining.

“We’ve been feeding off that field goal all summer,” Alexander said. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world to win this game.”

Huntsville was driving in the final minute Friday night with the Spartans holding a two-point lead. The Panthers reached Mountain Brook’s 36-yard line when Alexander came up with the biggest defensive play of the game for the Spartans.

He broke through to sack Huntsville quarterback Matthew Nowlin for an 8-yard loss and on top of that Nowlin was flagged for intentional grounding when he tried to get rid of the ball. The resulting 5-yard penalty pushed the Panthers back to the Spartans’ 49 with only 45 seconds remaining.

Three plays later, facing fourth-and-23 from the 49, Huntsville tried a quick pass and a lateral, but the lateral went awry and Mountain Brook’s Will Wetzler recovered the fumble at midfield to seal the victory.

The Spartans trailed 14-3 at halftime, then began their comeback after waiting nearly two hours before the start of the second half because of a weather delay due to lightning in the area.

Mountain Brook scored its first touchdown when junior wide receiver Sims Herron caught a quick screen from junior quarterback Connor Adair, who was making his first varsity start. Herron slipped two would-be-tacklers and then made a nifty cutback near the goal line for a 28-yard TD reception, pulling Mountain Brook within 14-10 with 6:22 remaining in the third.

The Spartans took the lead on Pyburn’s run with 11:13 left in the fourth quarter. Pyburn finished with 26 carries for 110 yards.

Game 2, 9/4

HOOVER 21

MOUNTAIN BROOK 14

Mountain Brook didn’t show up at Spartan Stadium hoping to keep it close against No. 1 Hoover. The Spartans showed up to win and they darn near did that, pushing the Bucs to the limit before dropping a Class 7A, Region 3 decision in front of a full house.

Afterward, following handshakes and hugs with the Hoover players and coaches, Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager took his team inside to talk about the game. 

There wasn’t a whole lot of difference in the two teams. Hoover hurt itself offensively with drive-altering penalties and three lost fumbles. But the Mountain Brook defense also had something to do with the problems. Both of Hoover’s second half turnovers came after Mountain Brook linebacker Joe Donald separated the football from the running back. The second one was scooped up by junior defensive back Zachary Carroll, who carried the ball 13 yards into the end zone to tie the game at 14 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

Hoover then made a big defensive play. Cornerback P.J. Hall stepped in front of a Mountain Brook receiver to intercept a pass thrown by Spartan quarterback Connor Adair with just under five minutes left. Three C.J. Sturdivant runs netted the 35 yards needed for the go-ahead score with the touchdown run covering 9 yards. Barret Pickering added the extra point to give the Bucs a 21-14 advantage with 4:18 left.

Mountain Brook (1-1, 0-1) scored late in the first half to cut a 14-0 Hoover lead on a Adair-Pyburn 4-yard TD pass.

The Spartans were hampered in the second half by the prolonged absence of Pyburn, who was cramping. Pyburn had 52 yards on 18 carries but most of it came in the first half. But the defense was able to come up with the big play to tie the game.

Top-ranked Hoover improved to 3-0 overall, 1-0 in the region.

Game 3, 9/11

THOMPSON 21

MOUNTAIN BROOK 14

After a hard-fought loss to Hoover, the Spartans were in need of a victory. A triumph over Thompson would not only give the Spartans their first region win of the season, but would also catapult head coach Chris Yeager into the 100 career-victory club.

For a moment it seemed like it would happen. 

After another slow start, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, the Spartans gradually clawed their way back into the game, evening the score with just under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.  

Quarterback Connor Adair hit wide receiver Sims Herron on a pinpoint 36-yard touchdown pass, their second six-point connection of the game, to make the score 14-13. An extra point by kicker Harrison Ritchie knotted the score at 14-14, marking the first time the Spartans weren’t trailing since 7:45 of the first quarter.

But all of that momentum came to a screeching halt on the very next Thompson possession.

Taking advantage of a shortened field due to a lengthy kick return that brought the ball to the Spartan 49-yard line, the Warriors needed only six plays to reach the end zone. Quarterback Walker Lott bulldozed through the Mountain Brook defense for a 17-yard rushing touchdown, and kicker Dimitri Davis added an extra point to put the Warriors up 21-14 with 1:52 to play.

A Mountain Brook (1-2, 0-2) four-and-out on its final possession solidified its second-consecutive 21-14 loss in region play.

“You don’t make the number of mistakes that we did and win in this region,” Yeager said. “As hard as the region is, it’s very unforgiving on this stage.”

Thompson (3-1, 1-1) jumped out to a quick lead, scoring on two of its first three possessions.

“That’s three games in a row that we’re down 14-3, 14-0,” Yeager said. “We’ve got to come out of the blocks a little quicker, and I think that would solve a lot of problems. “There’s a lot of football left to play, and we just got to go back and get a little bit better every week, but I think we’re OK,” Yeager said. “I love how hard our kids are playing. We just got to play smart Mountain Brook football.”