Spartans roll at Spain Park
HOOVER -- The Mountain Brook High School football team marched behind its offensive leaders, quarterback Strother Gibbs and running back Sam Higgins, en route to a 49-35 victory at Class 7A, Region 3 foe Spain Park on Friday night.
Gibbs ran for four touchdowns and 121 yards on 19 carries. He also completed 9-of-11 passes for 183 yards and two more scores.
Higgins scored the seventh touchdown and gained 116 yards on 18 rushes. The two players accounted for all but 36 of the Spartans’ yards.
Things didn’t start out badly at all for the Jaguars, who held an early 14-7 lead in the first quarter thanks to a touchdown pass from Harrison Barker to David Moultry, followed by a Barker 1-yard run that was set up by two passes for 46 yards.
But Mountain Brook soon took command. Gibbs threw a 20-yard scoring toss to Paulson Wright and then strung together a pair of short-yardage plunges for scores.
After the Jaguars turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory, Higgins took the ball on two straight runs through a porous defense, finding the end zone on a 21-yard dash early in the fourth quarter.
Spain Park tried to claw its way back from a four-TD deficit in the fourth quarter, with Barker finding Moultry for a 20-yard strike and Michael Callens for a 5-yarder late.
Barker was called on to fire up the aerial attack early and often, and responded with 28 completions on 45 pass attempts for 359 yards. The son of former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker did his best to keep up the family tradition, as he has in all of the Jaguars’ games this season. But his receivers also dropped six catchable passes, and the Spartans defense kept the pressure on Barker from the beginning.
Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager was impressed with Gibbs, but also had praise for tight end Crawford Golden, who had one touchdown reception plus a 52-yard catch that set the table for a Gibbs score in the third quarter.
“That was one of the key plays of the game for us,” Yeager said. “Crawford had a great night. But Strother had a complete game, too.”
Golden tallied 82 yards on three receptions, while Wright caught four passes for 81 yards.
Moultry finished with 127 yards receiving on 10 catches for the Jags. Cooper Kelley gained 93 yards on six receptions. Callens rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries.
For Spain Park (1-3, 0-2 in region), the problem lies yet again in a very young defense that simply lacks experience against the toughest offenses in the state, leaving Barker’s offense to pick up the slack.
“They’re young, and Mountain Brook just picked up on that tonight,” Jags coach Shawn Ramey said afterward. “Defensively we’re just not good right now. We just need more experience.”
Mountain Brook runs its record to 4-0 and 2-0 in the region, but takes on a resurgent Vestavia Hills team on the road next week. Spain Park’s journey doesn’t get any easier, as it travels to Hewitt-Trussville.
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