Spartans soar past Minor in region opener
MOUNTAIN BROOK — John Colvin dropped back, scanned the field, and hit his wide receiver in stride for a long touchdown pass. Then, he did it again, and again, and again.
Colvin, Mountain Brook High School’s senior quarterback, threw for scores on each of his team’s first four possessions in Thursday night’s Class 6A, Region 5 opener against Minor.
His aerial accuracy set the tone early and propelled Mountain Brook to a 49-14 victory at Spartan Stadium.
“John’s growing every week. I mean, every snap he takes, he’s getting better. That’s what you want your quarterback to do,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said. “He was throwing those long balls on the money.”
Colvin started the game 3-of-3 for three touchdowns, connecting on scores of 42, 53, and 54 yards. Wide receiver Jackson Beatty hauled in the 42- and 54-yarders, while Clark Sanderson snagged the 53-yarder.
Colvin delivered his early touchdown tosses perfectly into his receivers’ open arms as they outran a squadron of Minor defensive backs.
“One thing I’ll say is, we had explosive plays,” Yeager said. “There were some things that we thought they were a little bit vulnerable to, and we thought our guys could take advantage of that, and they did.”
After notching big plays on their first three possessions, the Spartans marched methodically down the field and capped their fourth drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Colvin to Carter Kelley. The score gave Mountain Brook (3-0, 1-0 in region) a 28-0 advantage with 8:18 to play in the second quarter.
Minor (2-1, 0-1) cut into the lead before halftime when quarterback Kareem Keye rifled a 9-yard scoring toss to Darrian Jackson in the corner of the end zone. The Tigers had a short field to work with thanks to an interception return by defensive lineman Thaddious Parson, who secured a batted ball at the line of scrimmage.
The pick was Colvin’s lone mistake in an otherwise impressive showing. He finished the game 8-of-15 for 209 yards and the four TDs. Beatty was his favorite target, tallying four receptions for 120 yards and the pair of scores.
“He’s got a lot of games left, and I know he’s going to do a lot more growing,” Yeager said of Colvin.
The Spartans picked up where they left off after halftime, but with a modified method of attack.
After airing the ball out early, they pounded the ground late.
Cole Gamble broke loose for third-quarter touchdown runs of 19 and 68 yards. Will Waldrop added a 49-yard scoring scamper in the final frame. Mountain Brook tallied more than 300 rushing yards behind Gamble, who carried 16 times for 154 yards, and Waldrop (17-101).
Minor did not find similar success. Mountain Brook’s defense limited the Tigers to fewer than 50 rushing yards and 210 total yards.
Keye accomplished more with his arm, completing 18-of-29 passes for 162 yards, but had to scramble continuously to evade the Spartans’ relentless pass rush.
“We won the line of scrimmage and put pressure on the quarterback,” Yeager said. “He had all those hands in his face. It’s hard to complete a pass with hands in your face.”
Mountain Brook will look to build on its strong start to the season when it hosts Woodlawn next Friday for homecoming. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.