Spartans hang on in back-and-forth affair

MOUNTAIN BROOK – It was a perfect high school football play, according to Joe Bird.

With the Oak Mountain High School football team on the doorstep and on the verge of taking the lead late in the contest, Bird saw the ball on the ground.

“We just called our normal goal line defense, and we just had to make a play,” Bird said. “The ball just bounced our way, finally.”

With first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Oak Mountain mishandled the snap, and Bird saw his chance.

“I just saw the ball, and I got on top of it,” he said.

That fumble recovery allowed Mountain Brook (6-2, 4-2 Class 7A, Region 3) to hang on and win, 31-28, over Oak Mountain (3-5, 1-5 region) on a wild Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

“When you play hard and give your best effort, sometimes you get lucky,” said Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager.

Mountain Brook jumped out to a 21-0 lead, Oak Mountain scored 28 unanswered, and the Spartans scored the final 10 points in a back-and-forth affair.

“The kids battled,” said Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell. “We dug ourselves a hole by going 21 down in the first half. We did a good job maintaining our poise.”

Even with the lost opportunity late, the Eagles had one last chance. They took over at their own 25-yard line with 1:01 to play and made a move.

Connor Webb completed three straight passes — a 22-yard strike to Luke Percer and two to Trey Allen — to advance to the Spartans 30-yard line. After a spike, Webb was tackled in bounds with the clock winding down, leaving time for a final play.

Webb received the snap a mere instant before the scoreboard clock expired and heaved it in the direction of Nathan Jones, but Collin Bussman swatted the pass down.

“The kids competed their brains out, and we came up just short tonight,” Bell said.

It didn’t look like the game would be that close, as Mountain Brook jumped out to 21-0 lead less than 15 minutes into the contest. On the first drive of the game, Hamp Sisson’s 37-yard pass to Hamp Greene set up AJ Gates’ 2-yard run.

Sisson scored on his own later in the first quarter, as the Spartans went ahead 14-0 after Colton Yeager came down with a pick to set them up with great field position.

Sisson and Greene connected once again early in the second quarter, as a crossing route turned into a 23-yard touchdown to make it 21-0. Sisson gained 69 rushing yards and 74 passing yards — 63 of those to Greene — in a steady performance.

Then, Oak Mountain settled in and went to work.

Percer scored on a 29-yard burst up the middle to cut the deficit to 21-7. Jordan Davis and Dylan Hoye recovered fumbles on consecutive possessions, and the Eagles capitalized on the latter.

Yeager said, “If we don’t turn the ball over twice, I don’t think it’s a close game. If they don’t turn the ball over, they win.”

In the waning seconds before the half, Connor Webb took the snap and dropped back with great protection. He broke out of the pocket after several seconds, and threw one to the end zone for Carson Bobo, who reached over his defender to haul it in for a 30-yard touchdown. The Eagles went into the half trailing just 21-14.

The remarkable catch was one of two on the night for Bobo, whose 34-yard grab gave Oak Mountain a 28-21 edge late in the third quarter. He finished with 104 yards on six receptions.

Oak Mountain marched 78 yards on 12 plays on the opening drive of the second half to tie the game at 21-21, as Webb plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out. The drive included four first downs. The Eagles racked up 21 on the evening to Mountain Brook’s eight.

“We were able to move the chains offensively,” Bell said. “We did a good job getting first downs, which was critical.”

Mountain Brook scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth to regain the lead, as Aidan Hood’s 28-yard field goal was followed by an eye-popping 53-yard touchdown run by Gates, who made a move at the line of scrimmage and left the defense in the dust.

Gates was impressive in the feature back role for the Spartans, as he racked up 131 yards and a pair of scores on 15 carries. Harold Joiner was sidelined with an arm injury that isn’t believed to be serious.

Percer led the Eagles with 101 yards on 17 carries. Jonathan Bennett carried the ball 18 times for 91 yards. Webb rushed for 78 yards and completed 14-of-22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

With the win, Mountain Brook secures a playoff bid for the second year in a row.

“We’ve been working so hard, and we’ve been getting closer and closer each week, and this game is exactly what we needed,” said Bird.

Each team wraps up region play on the road next Friday. Mountain Brook takes a trip to Huffman, while Oak Mountain visits Spain Park.