Spartans welcome Helena for home opener

Mountain Brook could not have scripted a more effective confidence boost than last Friday night.

Coming off consecutive 3-7 records, the Spartans traveled to Gulf Shores to begin the season, and returned home with a 50-point win.

"I feel like our team played extremely hard and extremely physical," Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said following the 56-6 win over the Dolphins.

The Spartans' ground attack was effective from the opening kickoff, and the team rushed for 383 total yards on the night.

Sam Everette led the charge of the Mountain Brook running backs, rushing for 191 yards and 18 carries and 3 touchdowns. Harold Joiner got the starting nod and scored a pair of touchdowns while gaining 50 yards.

“All the yards I gained were because of the offensive line," Everette said. "They did their job really well so I could do mine.”

Daniel Wilbanks and AJ Gates also scored on the ground, while starting quarterback Hamp Sisson was 6-of-8 for 104 yards and a score.

Helena took last week to play a jamboree game against Ramsay, losing 20-10. The offense struggled to get on track, but jamboree contests are designed to work the kinks out.

The Huskies are just in their third year of competition, and have made the jump to Class 6A this fall under head coach Watt Parker.

“They are a huge football team and we need to stop the run against such a talented group,” Yeager said.

Mountain Brook passed its first test against Gulf Shores, holding the Dolphins to a mere 44 yards on the ground, and a duplicate performance against Helena will bode well for a potential 2-0 start to the season.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.