Spartans close region play unbeaten
MOUNTAIN BROOK -- The halftime talk for Class 6A No. 2 Mountain Brook High School wasn’t a pleasant one after the Spartans struggled early against Chelsea.
In the end, the defense and run game were too strong as the Spartans erased an early deficit and finished Region 5 unbeaten with a 35-21 win over the Hornets.
"We got a talking to in the locker room, that’s for sure,” said Mountain Brook defensive back James Nichols, who had two interceptions Friday. "We just made sure to do our assignments. All our scores they had were one person messing up. Coach said for everyone to do your own [assignment], know what you’re doing before the play and if you do that, we’ll be successful."
Mountain Brook (8-1, 6-0 region) took a quick 14-0 lead. Michael Brogan ran for a 34-yard score and on Chelsea’s next possession, David Dixon recovered a blocked punt by Corbin Peterson and scored from 3 yards out.
It was then all Chelsea. Carson Freeman scored on a 45-yard punt return. Adam Reaves ran 79 yards untouched around right end and down the sideline. Right after Cooper Griffin hit Gabe Ruffin on a 24-yard pass from a flea flicker down to the 5, Griffin hit Ruffin for a 5-yard score.
Chelsea (3-6, 2-4) then kept it going, as Cody Fortenberry intercepted Gibbs around midfield, but the Spartans’ Trent Wright forced a fumble from Reaves that Win Horn recovered at his 47. Gibbs later ran for a 34-yard touchdown to tie it, and after a Nichols interception, the Spartans still had time. Gibbs hit Paulson Wright for a 59-yard gain down to the 2, and Brogan punched it in to give the Spartans a 28-21 halftime lead.
Gibbs threw a 12-yard pass to Paulson Wright for a touchdown in the third quarter, and that was all the scoring.
“(Going into) the second half, I was concerned,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said. “Are we interested in playing this game? We looked like we really wanted to play in the second half. We had a lot more fight."
Chelsea had a chance to tie it at 28 early in the third quarter, but turned it over on downs. The Hornets were down to their third quarterback and the roster was a bit decimated due to injuries and coronavirus contact tracing, head coach Dustin Goodwin said.
"Happy for our kids that we were able to have some success against a good football team, knowing all along that they’re a good football team and they’re not going to lie down,” Goodwin said. "We knew we had a fight on our hands, and to their credit, they did a good job and finished the way you’re supposed to.”
Mountain Brook held the Chelsea pass game to 7-of-18 for 48 yards with the two interceptions. Chelsea’s Reaves rushed for 119 yards on 12 carries.
Gibbs had a strong all-around game for the Spartans. He completed 10-of-19 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 129 yards and a score.
"It’s great to get a team win,” Gibbs said. "I thought the team played hard. We’re not proud of the outcome. We could have played a lot better. That was all on the players."
Brogan ran for 100 yards on 21 carries and Paulson Wright had five catches for 73 yards.
The teams finish the regular season next week. Mountain Brook is at Austin and Chelsea hosts Calera.
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