Spartans brace for Bucs
Mountain Brook's Spartans, buoyed by a comeback win over Huntsville to open the season, open Class 7A, Region 3 play against the top-ranked Hoover Buccaneers on Friday.
Two games into the 2015 season and with two wins over out-of-state teams, the Class 7A No. 1 Bucs look every bit as good as last season's state champs.
Mountain Brook is 1-0, rallying to beat Huntsville 16-14. The Spartans were down 14-3 at the half last Friday before getting untracked offensively. Connor Adair was 16-of-30 passing for 156 yards and a touchdown. Harrison Pyburn rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Defensively, Joe Donald made nine tackles and Ford Alexander had a big sack in the closing seconds to preserve the win.
Spartans coach Chris Yeager is one step short of two milestones; his next win will be the 100th of his career and his 75th at Mountain Brook.
This is the 37th meeting of the two schools. Hoover has a 29-7 advantage, one of those losses a forfeit, and the Bucs have won 17 of the past 18 “on the field.” A 17-9 win in 2011 is the Spartans’ most recent victory in the series. It's also the last time Hoover lost a game to an in-state opponent.
In Hoover’s win last week over highly regarded Manatee, quarterback Christopher Vacarella was sharp early in leading the Bucs to four touchdowns in five first-half possessions. He opened the scoring with a 42-yard run and hit his first nine passes. He hit Quincy Cox for a 72-yard touchdown pass to close out a 28-14 first half. He finished the night 16-of-26 passing for 241 yards.
Kickoff at Spartan Stadium will be at 7 p.m. Channel 68 in Birmingham will televise the game. Tickets are available through PrepTix.