Spartans travel to Madison to face James Clemens

Mountain Brook steps out of region play this week to take on one of the Top 10 teams in the state.

The Spartans hit the road to Madison, where they’ll face James Clemens. The Jets were ranked seventh in Class 7A entering the week and may move up when the polls are released Tuesday night. The Jets beat No. 5 Buckhorn 23-7 and No. 6 Gadsden City also lost (to No. 4 Bob Jones). Clemens only loss is to city rival Bob Jones.

It will be homecoming for the school in Madison, which is a Huntsville suburb. The game will be played at Madison City Schools Stadium, which is off Interstate 565 and Madison Boulevard at 211 Celtic Drive.

Last season, James Clemens beat Mountain Brook 29-26 at Spartan Stadium. 

Former Chelsea coach Wade Waldrop is in his third season as Jets head coach, taking the 4-year-old school to the playoffs for the first time last season.

Clemens likes to get the ball to its playmakers. Quarterback Heath Burchfield triggers the offense, and he has running back/wide receiver Maceo Booker, a highly sought-after prospect, running back Devon Atkinson and wide receivers Immanuel Wilder and Torolla Walker in his arsenal. Defensively, Michael Sharpley is a standout at linebacker.

Mountain Brook (1-3, 0-3 Class 7A, Region 3) took a tough loss to archrival Vestavia Hills 37-7. Four turnovers put the Spartans in a hole they could not climb out of.

“I’ve never been in one of these games where the turnover ratio hasn’t been key and when it rained it just poured, that’s the way it was,” said Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager.

“They were ready and they played a great game,” Yeager said. “They played hard and played tough. We turned the ball over, made a lot of mistakes, made too many mistakes. We probably made more mistakes in this game than we’ve made in the whole season. We just have to work and correct them.”

Running back Harrison Pyburn rushed 20 times for 78 yards and also had two receptions for 60 yards to lead the Spartans on offense. Quarterback Connor Adair was 8-of-16 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown to Sims Herron.

“The big thing to me is that we still improve,” Yeager said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, you still have to focus on getting better fundamentally. You just have to go back in and work on the fundamentals, that’s what high school football is all about. And we will, and they will respond.”

Yeager is just one win shy of his 100th career victory.

Kickoff for the game Friday night is 7 p.m.