Eagles unable to stop double-threat ground game
HUFFMAN — “We’ve got to try to find some pride.”
Oak Mountain football coach Cris Bell was succinct and to the point about what his team sorely needs, after they were handed their third defeat of the season in a 21-11 loss at Huffman.
The Vikings struck early, thanks to a pair of big senior running backs — Jacoby Johnson at 6-feet even and 225 pounds, and Rodarrius Brooks at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds. Brooks burst through the Oak Mountain line nearly untouched for 70 yards and a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and Johnson ran 80 yards for a score halfway through the first quarter.
The Eagles (0-3, 0-1 region) simply could not answer. Their second drive of the game bogged down at the Viking 9-yard line, leading to a 26-yard Nick Carney field goal. But that was all for the first half, in which Oak Mountain’s offense mustered only four first downs.
The visitors showed signs of life after halftime, taking the opening kickoff 68 yards for a score. Helped by a 36-yard pass to Noah Egan by sophomore quarterback Jackson Kimbrell, plus a Huffman personal foul on the same play, the Eagles quickly drove to the Huffman 5. From there, running back Daniel Salchert charged up the middle for Oak Mountain’s lone touchdown of the game. He also caught a Kimbrell pass for the 2-point conversion.
But the Vikings (1-1, 1-0 region) got some help from the Eagles on the next possession. Punting on fourth down near midfield, Huffman got a reprieve when Oak Mountain was penalized for roughing the kicker. Five plays later, Brooks ran 26 yards for a touchdown midway through the third period.
Oak Mountain had three chances in the fourth period, but failed to capitalize on any of them. On the first with fourth down and goal at the 2-yard line, Kimbrell was sacked for the stop. Their next possession bogged down thanks to a holding penalty in Viking territory, and their final drive — starting on the Huffman 42 — gained just one net yard with three incomplete passes in the last set of downs.
The Eagles’ inability to stop the potent Huffman ground game, primarily Johnson and Brooks, frustrated Bell.
“The key was we couldn’t tackle on defense,” he said. “We didn’t convert [on offense] a couple of times, and we simply were out-coached.”
Johnson ran 21 times for 227 yards for Huffman, while Brooks carried 15 times for 153 yards. The Vikings threw the ball five teams, with one completion for 23 yards.
Kimbrell, who took over the starting quarterback spot for Oak Mountain after Wyatt Legas went down last week at Hillcrest with a broken collarbone (he’s out for at least four weeks), completed three passes in 15 attempts for 50 yards. He had one interception, snagged by Huffman’s Rory McCurdy at his own 2-yard line in the third quarter.
The win was the first in Class 7A region play for the Vikings, who were newly promoted from 6A this season. They host Tuscaloosa County next week.
The campaign doesn’t get any easier for Oak Mountain next week. They host Vestavia Hills, which lost to Hoover on Friday night.