Vestavia takes down Spartans in season opener
MOUNTAIN BROOK – By the end of the 2022 season, the Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook high school football teams were playing as well as any teams in Alabama.
The Rebels and Spartans squared off to begin the 2023 campaign in an annual rivalry, and Vestavia Hills was the squad able to pick up where it left off last fall.
Vestavia Hills routed Mountain Brook 35-10 on a hot evening at Spartan Stadium in a non-region game to kick off the year.
“Mountain Brook is about as quality of a program run by as quality of a man as you can find,” Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans said following the game. “We needed to win one of these in a rivalry game.”
Evans served as the defensive coordinator for Mountain Brook and head coach Chris Yeager before taking the Vestavia Hills job last season. The Spartans are coming off an appearance in the Class 6A state championship game, but were unable to gain much traction Thursday night.
“We’re better than we played tonight,” Yeager said. “I know we are. I’m glad we played a really good team and a great opponent. I’m not thankful for the outcome, but I’m thankful for the lessons we’re going to learn from this.”
As was the case in many games last fall, Vestavia Hills quarterback John Paul Head stole most of the spotlight on the stat sheet. The dual-threat signal caller rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another. He ran for 119 yards on 24 carries and completed 13-of-17 passes for 122 yards.
He scored on runs of 2 and 29 yards in the first quarter, springing the Rebels to a 14-3 lead. He added another 1-yard score in the third quarter, but it was his passing touchdown in the second quarter, one that put his team up 21-3 heading into halftime, that will stick with many fans.
The Rebels had a short field after a special teams turnover and entered the red zone quickly. From the 5-yard line, Head dropped back and floated a pass to the back corner of the end zone, where Jordan Ross leapt high into the air and snared the touchdown pass.
Ross, a four-star defensive end prospect who committed to Tennessee earlier in the week, may have bought himself a few more chances on the offensive side of the ball with the impressive touchdown snag.
"We've been working on that in practice," Ross said. "I didn't think it was really going to happen, but he called the play. John Paul threw the pass and I caught it."
The game was pushed back to a 7:30 p.m. kickoff to alleviate some of the heat concerns during what has been the hottest week of the year, but the conditions were still difficult to manage.
“It was a battle of attrition,” Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans said. “These conditions are legit and real. I thought our pace wore on them in the first half.”
In a scene not unusual in season-opening games, both teams turned the ball over multiple times. Mountain Brook’s Hampton King and Vestavia’s Kohen Nelson exchanged interceptions on consecutive series in the third quarter.
Mountain Brook’s Cole Gamble picked up right where he left off a season ago, rushing for 215 yards on 24 carries. He was also one of four Mountain Brook receivers to tally between 22 and 26 receiving yards. John Cooper threw for 111 yards in his first start as the Spartans’ quarterback.
“We leaked and leaked and leaked but we had several fourth down stops,” said Evans, who pointed to the total yardage similarities. Mountain Brook finished with 370 total yards, compared to Vestavia’s 367.
Stuart Andrews scored Mountain Brook’s lone touchdown with a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter, but Vestavia Hills’ Chase Webb returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards to give the game its final tally.
“This is not our first time we’ve been in situation,” Yeager said. “We’re not going to push any panic buttons, we’re not going to get down on our kids, we’re not going to lose confidence.”
Mountain Brook will head to James Clemens next Thursday night to play a second straight 7A team to begin the season. Vestavia Hills will host longtime rival Homewood for the second straight year, as Waldrop Stadium is currently under construction.
“Hopefully we can put on a good showing and wear some red jerseys,” Evans said.