Photo by Jimmy Mitchell
Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager celebrates with his team following a 21-0 victory over Oak Mountain on Oct. 4. The win pushed the Spartans to 6-0 on the year.
Mountain Brook High School head football coach Chris Yeager said multiple times he never saw it coming.
Heading into the 2018 season, the Spartans were replacing a three-year starter at quarterback in Hamp Sisson, who’s now at Furman University. His knowledge and comfort within the offense couldn’t be replaced overnight. Neither could the chemistry of the offensive line, which returned just one starter from the season prior.
Mountain Brook also had a new defensive coordinator in Robert Evans, who came over from Hoover in the offseason.
But somehow, it all came together rather quickly.
The Spartans, with sophomore starting quarterback Strother Gibbs and a rebuilt offensive line, got off to a blistering 7-0 start. They picked up rushing yards by the truckload, and the defense pitched three shutouts in those first seven victories.
“This is one of the most unlikely offensive lines I’ve ever coached, and week after week, I’m amazed at what they’re doing. I really thought that was going to be our weak link, but they keep proving me wrong,” Yeager said following a win over Oak Mountain on Oct. 4.
Following a thrilling 20-17 win on Oct. 12 over Hewitt-Trussville — one of just two instances all season that the Huskies’ offense was held to less than 30 points — to get that seventh straight win, Yeager lauded his team’s ability to come together at such a quick rate.
“They believed in this system, and they believed in one another,” he said. “They have so far exceeded my expectations. They exceeded all of our expectations — talk about an unlikely motley crew. They love the game and they love one another.”
The two weeks that followed were not as pleasant, as the Spartans fell by identical 31-7 score lines to Class 7A semifinalists Thompson and Hoover, but Mountain Brook rebounded to close the regular season with an 8-2 record after a 38-14 win over Gardendale.
In the first round of the 7A playoffs, what was supposed to be a defensive struggle turned into a 31-0 rout of Austin. The Mountain Brook defense picked off four passes that evening, including a pick-six by Colton Yeager.
The win was the 101st win at Mountain Brook for Chris Yeager, who surpassed Joey Jones to become the winningest coach in program history. He came to Mountain Brook 20 years ago as Jones’ offensive coordinator and has been the head coach for the past 13 years.
In 13 seasons, Chris Yeager has compiled a 101-51 record and now has 126 career wins if previous stops at West Blocton (1991-92) and Walker (1993-94) are included.
“I’m the most blessed football coach, I can promise you that,” he said. “I hope one day when I hang up my whistle and go to the farm, that some young buck comes in behind me and just shatters this thing.”
The season ended in the second round, as the Spartans fell to Hoover 42-17 and completed the year with a 9-3 record. It was the first nine-win season for Mountain Brook since 2012 and the sixth in Chris Yeager’s tenure.
“That’s what makes high school coaching fun, because it hurts when it’s over,” he said.
