Mountain Brook prep football preview

Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager called last year the perfect storm, but did not mean it in a positive tone.

The Spartans came into the 2015 season with a small senior class, and right off the bat, they experienced a rash of injuries to make matters more difficult. They started the season with a hard-fought win over Huntsville, but lost four straight as the season unraveled quickly.

“In our classification — 7A — numbers matter, because it’s about depth,” Yeager said. “Football is a sport of attrition.”

Senior offensive lineman Price Delk is looking for the team to be tougher, as he enters his senior campaign with high hopes.

“The leaderships has kind of shifted and the mentality is shifting and we’re trying to bring the culture up to have a better enthusiasm and more excitement going into the season,” he said.

If the Spartans are to rebound from back-to-back 3-7 seasons, they will face a tough road in Region 3. Spain Park and Hoover each won double digit games, and Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills each made the postseason.

Huffman replaces Hewitt-Trussville in the region this year, after reclassification, and Mountain Brook will also deal with the likes of Oak Mountain, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County. 

Senior wide receiver Sims Herron said the team has to emphasize the “little things” in order to make a push for the postseason in 2016. Three of the Spartans’ seven losses last year were by one possession, meaning a play here or there could have gone a long way in changing the outcome.

But the team feels good about what it has returning, with 15 of 22 starters back on both sides of the ball, along with the special teams unit remaining intact.

“People have to step up,” senior defensive back Zachary Carroll said. “Younger guys have to step up. We have a lot of older guys, but the missing pieces are where the younger guys have to step in. They can do it.”

Offense

First and foremost on Yeager’s agenda on the offensive side of the football is finding depth behind junior running back Harold Joiner.

“Everybody says, ‘You’ve got to find a running back.’ But I promise you, in this region, one running back is never enough,” Yeager said.

Yeager would like to find an additional tail back or two that he can consistently rely on to feel good about the run game for the duration of the season.

Hamp Sisson takes over as the full-time signal caller for the offense, after splitting time at the quarterback position as a sophomore a season ago.

“Our passing game is going to be really good,” receiver Sims Herron said. “He’s got a year under his belt.”

Sean Elmore returns to bolster the receiving corps, after going down with an injury early last season. Along with Herron and the likes of Wilson Higgins, Aubrey Hart, Hunter Hartley and others, the receiver group should provide a strength of the offense.

JP Darnall played receiver last season and is making the transition to tight end, a position that Yeager feels the need to develop another player or two.

On the offensive line, Price Delk returns as a starter on the line, as well as contributors Christian Johnston and Johnny Leara. Some other guys will have to step up and fill the remaining holes on the line, but Yeager and Delk are positive about the group as a whole. 

“We have a lot of promising juniors coming up and a lot of sophomores,” Delk said.

Defense

Yeager called senior free safety Zachary Carroll the anchor of the Spartan defense, which is odd for him to be able to say that in the preseason.

“This is one of the first times I can remember in a long time where we’ve got the shell of our defense, and we’re looking for the interior,” Yeager said.

Mountain Brook has three to four seniors in the secondary that will contribute in a big way, with the likes of Carroll, Reid Hogue, Chandler Cox and Joey Keating, as the secondary should be pretty stout.

The defensive line and the linebackers have left holes to fill. Will Wetzler at linebacker and Sam Colvin along the defensive line are a pair of returning starters that will look to make some noise as the Spartans plug holes to find the right combination.

Special teams

Mountain Brook’s special teams unit remains fully intact from a season ago, with Mason Dillard doubling as the place-kicker and punter and Alex Pankey as the deep snapper. Dillard lifted the Spartans to victory over Tuscaloosa County with a last-second field goal in last year’s matchup.

Yeager “feels great” about Dillard, and loves the fact that he plays soccer in the spring, allowing him to kick year-round.