Spartans shut down Tuscaloosa County
TUSCALOOSA -- The Mountain Brook High School football team held a 14-point lead in the final minutes of the third quarter when Spartans coach Chris Yeager decided to roll the dice and leave his offense out on the field for fourth down.
His decision paid off when running back Daniel Wilbanks found the end zone after being stopped inches short on the previous play. It was the first of three second-half scores that gave the Spartans a 34-0 victory over at Tuscaloosa County.
“Yeah there was a lot of second thought,” Yeager said. “I’ll tell you what sealed it though. We said, 'OK, if we kick the thing and miss it, they get it back out at the 20. If we miss it here (on offense), the defense has been great playing all night.'”
Yeager’s confidence stemmed from watching his defense hold the Wildcats to 77 yards of total offense in the first half. Even if Wilbanks had failed to convert, Yeager said he thought his guys may have gotten a safety anyway.
He might have been right, as the Wildcat offense finished the second half with a total of four offensive yards.
The secret to the success of the Spartans (3-0, 1-0 in Class 7A, Region 3) defense might have been the special teams unit. Yeager singled out two such snaps after the game as momentum-shifting plays.
Senior defensive lineman Jay Barze blocked a punt in the first half that was picked up by running back Sam Higgins and returned to the opposing 21-yard line.
“Jay Barze, he does some of the most amazing things,” Yeager said. “Last week he picked off a pass and ran it back to the 10-yard line. We call it ‘Barze being Barze.’ He’s just a big play kind of guy.”
The offense was unable to cash in that opportunity for points, as the ensuing field goal bounced off the uprights, but Yeager still saw the positives.
“The blocked punt to me was maybe one of the biggest plays of the game … We missed the field goal on that, but the bottom line, still that’s demoralizing for your (opposing) team,” Yeager said. “It flipped the field.”
The field got flipped again when Aidan Hood sent a punt 73 yards down field to force the Wildcats to start inside their own 3-yard line.
The Spartans offense returned to the field quickly, and running back AJ Gates scored his first touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run. He carried the ball a total of 10 times for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
Fellow running back Higgins toted the ball 11 times in the second half to finish with a team-high 95 yards and a touchdown. Mountain Brook’s quarterback, Strother Gibbs, completed the evening 9-of-19 for 111 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
Region play continues as Mountain Brook hosts Spain Park on Friday.
“You cannot look at the haul that we’ve got to make,” Yeager said. “But it is good to get this one out of the way. The thing too, I felt like we got better tonight.”
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