Eagles struggle in early going

Game 1, 8/28

HILLCREST 31, OAK MOUNTAIN 0

With head coach Cris Bell serving a suspension and some key players also missing, the Oak Mountain Eagles were stunned by Class 6A Hillcrest of Tuscaloosa at Heardmont Park.

Quarterback Warren Shader did not play, and the Class 7A, Region 3 runner-up team of 2014 was down 21-0 at halftime.

Even with a full complement of players, Hillcrest’s Brian Robinson would have been hard to handle. Robinson, a standout junior running back, rushed, received and threw for touchdowns. 

It was a tough night for the Eagles defense, which allowed 357 yards of total offense. It might have been of some solace to know that Robinson would rush for a state record 447 yards the next week in a 41-40 loss to Class 6A’s No. 1 team, Clay-Chalkville.

The Eagles couldn’t score, either. Coleman Reeves managed 88 yards rushing and Wyatt Legas was 4-for-9 passing for 31 yards.

Game 2, 9/4

VESTAVIA HILLS 35, OAK MOUNTAIN 26

Oak Mountain rebounded from the opening loss with a strong effort, but fell shy against the Vestavia Hills Rebels on Buddy Anderson Field in the Class 7A, Region 3 opener for both teams.

Trailing 28-13 at the half, Oak Mountain drove to the Rebels 5-yard line on the first drive of the second half, but Vestavia’s Reid Adams forced a fumble that teammate Nate Lewis recovered.

The Eagles (0-2, 0-1) had clawed back into the game early in the second quarter after falling behind 14-0, and looked poised to start a second rally after being down 28-13 at the half. Oak Mountain opened the second half with a drive that covered 71 yards on nine plays, eight of them runs.

“I thought we had them on the ropes, we did have them on the ropes, and we wanted to keep pressing. But it’s one of those things that happens,” Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell said. 

The Rebels sprinted to a 14-0 lead halfway through the first quarter on their first two drives, capping them with scoring runs of 3 yards by Minor and 6 yards by Chatwood, who finished with 59 yards on eight carries

The Eagles rallied with the next two scores to pull within 14-13. The two teams battled the remainder of the game, but the Rebels took the win.

“It was close,” said Shader, who rushed for 108 yards and two scores and completed six of 12 passes for 76 yards. “But we turned the ball over in the red zone, it happens.

“It always sucks going 0-1, it always sucks losing, but it’s football.”

Game 3, 9/11

HOOVER 17, OAK MOUNTAIN 14

Warren Shader’s last-gasp Hail Mary pass was picked off by Hoover linebacker Jeremiah Moon about 10 yards short of the end zone, allowing the Bucs to walk away with a narrow victory over the Eagles on a rainy night at Heardmont Park.

It was the second consecutive week that a region opponent went toe-to-toe with the Bucs (4-0 overall, 2-0 Class 7A Region 3). Hard-luck Oak Mountain dropped to 0-3, 0-2.

But Oak Mountain looked more like the team that was ranked in the Class 7A rankings before the season. The Eagles’ physical running game piled up 244 yards with senior Coleman Reeves gaining 144 of those yards on 24 carries. They also didn’t make it easy for a Hoover offense that continued to hurt itself at times with penalties.

“A lot of credit goes to Oak Mountain,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. “They did an unbelievable job.”

But, once again, it wasn’t enough to keep Hoover from extending its in-state winning streak to 42 games and extending the Bucs record to 13-0 against Oak Mountain.