Spartans drop tough one to Oak Mountain
On a night when Mountain Brook recognized members of its 1975 state championship team, the Spartans might have seen their postseason aspirations this fall come to an end.
The mistake-prone Spartans turned the ball over three times Friday night while losing 21-14 to the visiting Oak Mountain Eagles in a Class 7A, Region 3 game.
The loss dropped Mountain Brook to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the region. With only two region games remaining, the Spartans are a long shot to make the playoffs.
“We’ll have to win and we’ve got to have some help,” Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager said.
Oak Mountain improved to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the region, keeping its playoff hopes alive.
“We’ve just got to play hard each week we come out and try to finish strong,” Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell said.
Yeager didn’t have to search long for a reason why the Spartans lost.
“Turnovers made the difference,” he said. “They won the turnover ratio (3-1) and they won the game. That’s usually how it is most of the time in our region.”
The Spartans lost three fumbles, two leading to Oak Mountain touchdowns and another killing a Mountain Brook scoring threat. The Eagles had only one turnover on a fumble early in the fourth quarter.
The score was tied 14-14 midway through the third quarter when Mountain Brook quarterback Hamp Sisson and running back Owen Conzelman mishandled an exchange on a handoff.
Oak Mountain defensive end Zachariah Pierce recovered the fumble at the Spartans’ 37-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Wyatt Legas was headed for a 29-yard touchdown run after a beautifully faked handoff to running back Coleman Reeves.
But an inadvertent whistle killed the play after a 5-yard gain because an official thought Reeves had the ball and stopped the action when he was tackled.
Undaunted, the Eagles came back and scored on Legas’ 1-yard quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-goal play that Oak Mountain ahead 21-14 with 2:43 remaining in the third.
Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense shut down the Spartans in the second half. They sealed the victory when linebacker Avery Holsomback came free on a blitz and sacked Sisson for an 8-yard loss at the Spartans’ 41 on a fourth-down play with 15 seconds remaining.
The Spartans took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Sisson made like Johnny Manziel while scrambling for a 7-yard touchdown. After dropping back on a pass attempt, he rolled to his right to avoid the rush, then retreated back near the 30-yard line before reversing field and making a nifty cutback to find daylight to the end zone.
Oak Mountain answered with a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive capped by Legas’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Reid Golson, tying the score 7-7 with 11:14 remaining in the second quarter. The key play in the march was Legas’ 41-yard pass completion to Noah Egan.
Mountain Brook was driving to break the tie when Sisson and Conzelman mishandled another exchange and the Eagles recovered the fumble at their18 to thwart the Spartans’ scoring threat.
The Eagles took a 14-7 lead with 3:32 remaining in the first half when Reeves scored on a 2-yard run. The touchdown was set up when the Spartans’ Sims Herron muffed a punt and the Eagles’ Jaried Buxton recovered it at the Mountain Brook 37. Seven plays later, Reeves’ scored.
The Spartans responded with an eight-play, 61-yard scoring drive capped by Sisson’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Clay Stearns to tie the score 14-14 with 59 seconds remaining in the half.