Gamble scores hat trick, Spartans roll on homecoming
MOUNTAIN BROOK — The Mountain Brook High School football team is 4-0 for the fifth time in as many years following a dominant homecoming win over Woodlawn on Friday night.
The Spartans’ defense pitched a first-half shutout, the offense found paydirt on its first six possessions and second-ranked Mountain Brook (4-0, 2-0 in Class 6A, Region 5) rolled over the visiting Colonels (2-1, 0-1) 56-6 on a rainy night in Spartan Stadium.
“This checks all the boxes for a homecoming night,” said Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager. “We played everybody and it’s another region win.”
After going to the half leading 42-0 and opening the third quarter with a nine-play touchdown drive, the Spartans turned to backup players for the remaining 20 minutes of play.
Yeager also pointed to his team’s focus in what became a lopsided contest.
“Sometimes when you play a team that’s struggling a little bit, you try not to play down to them. And the biggest question is can you play up to what your potential is,” he continued.
His question was answered early on as the Spartans jumped out front and never looked back. Mountain Brook took advantage of a quick three-and-out stop on defense and a short punt by Woodlawn, which set them up at the Colonels’ 21-yard line. Jack King accepted three straight carries to cover that distance and put the home team out front 7-0 with 9:35 remaining in the first.
King went on to average 9.5 yards per carry to finish with 95 yards and two touchdowns. His second score covered 3 yards and stretched Mountain Brook’s lead to 28-0 with 1:39 remaining in the first.
Junior Cole Gamble led all rushers with 109 yards and three scores on 13 carries. His touchdowns came from 2, 7 and 2 yards out in the win. Senior Will Waldrop also got involved in the ground game with 81 yards and two scores on 10 carries.
“The backs ran really, really well,” said Yeager. “I think they made good decisions and except for one play, secured the ball really well.”
Mountain Brook’s only non-scoring drive of the first half came late in the second quarter when King lost a fumble in the red zone. However, Woodlawn was unable to take advantage of the turnover and later went to the break trailing by 42 points.
The Colonels sputtered throughout and eventually finished with just 121 yards of offense, including 22 passing yards on 14 attempts. Mountain Brook sophomore Hampton King intercepted one of those passes in the first quarter.
Woodlawn’s only touchdown came midway through the third when Asher Hawkins broke free down the left side for a 75-yard gallop, which cut the deficit to 49-6.
Spartans quarterback John Colvin completed all three of his passes for 40 yards, while the Mountain Brook run game chewed up 327 yards in the rain.
The Spartans will travel to Jackson-Olin next week while Woodlawn plays host to Mortimer Jordan.