Photo by James Nicholas
Mountain Brook team captains wide receiver, Sam Smith (22), wide receiver, Archie Andrews (19., tight end Jack Walthallbefore (88) and linebacker, Hampton, King (38) during the coin toss at a game against Parker High School on Friday, August 30th, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in Mountain Brook AL. Photo by James Nicholas
Week 2 of the high school football season is in the books. You likely saw some of what happened in the area, so let’s discuss what happened in most teams’ final tune-up before region play.
The scoreboard may have shown Mountain Brook losing by two touchdowns to Parker, but that fails to tell the whole story. The Spartans knew going in that Parker would possess a clear talent advantage, but they took a halftime lead against one of the top teams in Class 6A. While they were unable to hold onto it, that alone should give Mountain Brook some positive feelings to lean on entering the portion of the schedule that really counts.
For the second straight week, the Under the Lights Game of the Week lived up to the billing. Spain Park and Hoover put on one heck of a show at the Hoover Met on Friday night. The lead switched hands several times and the teams combined for five touchdowns in the final quarter.
It was a monumental win for the Spain Park program, no matter what the Jags will tell you publicly. They have lived in the shadow of their school system partner since the school began more than 20 years ago. Well, except for that magical 2015 season, in which the Jags knocked off Hoover twice on the way to the state championship game.
Friday night’s 39-37 win over the Bucs was the only time in series history outside of that 2015 double dip that the Jags have pulled off a win against Hoover. The two teams are not region foes anymore, as Spain Park has dropped down to Class 6A for at least the next two years, but the win establishes the Jags as one of the teams to watch across the state this fall.
Homewood has not messed around in the first two games of the season. The Patriots expected to start fast with an experienced roster, and they have done just that after knocking off John Carroll in Week 1 and Briarwood last week. The fact that Homewood feels there is much to improve upon after a three-touchdown win should say plenty about how strongly head coach Ben Berguson feels about this team.
John Carroll very nearly broke into the win column, suffering a tough 20-19 loss at St. Michael. It was a back-and-forth game that the Cavs led a few times. St. Michael is a likely playoff team in Class 4A, so the fact that Cavs competed well should be encouraging for their young group of guys.
How about Chelsea and Oak Mountain jumping out to 2-0 starts? The Hornets won in dramatic fashion over Wetumpka, while the Eagles cruised to a victory over county rival Pelham. Undoubtedly, the schedule is about to become much tougher for both squads, but the positive vibes created in the first two weeks have not been a common theme for these two programs over the last several years. The test will now be continuing that.
Don’t lose hope, Vestavia Hills fans. The Rebels suffered a second straight convincing defeat, falling hard to Auburn 52-17 on Friday, to start 0-2 for the first time since 2021. But Vestavia has a young roster, one that is even missing some key contributors on top of that. And the Rebels have played two of the best teams in 7A to start the year. There aren’t many teams that would thrive in that scenario to begin with. However, the schedule doesn’t relent this week, as they host Hewitt-Trussville to begin region play.
Hewitt-Trussville has to be encouraged by the fact that, even though the Huskies still have questions to be answered, it has won its first two games in convincing fashion. The win over Gadsden City may not turn many heads on paper, but the Titans have become a strong team in Class 6A and present Hewitt-Trussville with plenty of challenges. The Huskies begin region play this week at Vestavia Hills.
Clay-Chalkville has certainly looked the part of a defending state champion so far, fresh off a throttling of Ramsay on Thursday night. The Cougars looked dominant on both sides of the ball, and the offense appears to have multiple weapons at its disposal once again.
Be sure to follow Under the Lights on social media and sign up for the Saturday morning newsletter to have all of the weekend’s coverage sent directly to your inbox, all in one place.
Also, subscribe to the Under the Lights podcast on YouTube, to be the first to know where we’ll be headed for our Game of the Week this Friday.
Here’s an early look at the Week 3 slate:
- John Carroll at Carver-Birmingham (Thursday)
- Briarwood vs. Ramsay
- Chelsea at Pelham
- Clay-Chalkville at Pell City
- Hewitt-Trussville at Vestavia Hills
- Homewood at Mortimer Jordan
- Hoover at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa
- Mountain Brook at Hueytown
- Oak Mountain vs. Prattville
This is a weekly column from sports editor Kyle Parmley. Follow him on X at @KyleParmley.
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