Eagles aim to even record, finish strong

Ultimately, it wasn’t the season that the Oak Mountain High School football team hoped for, but the Eagles can still take away some positives from the 2017 campaign.

Oak Mountain (4-5, 2-5 Class 7A, Region 3) improved upon its win total from last year, when the Eagles won three games and sneaked into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Eagles will not be making a return appearance this fall.

The Eagles are playing well as the season nears its conclusion, as they have rebounded from a disappointing loss to Tuscaloosa County by playing Mountain Brook down to the wire and routing Spain Park last Friday.

And this Friday at 7 p.m. at Heardmont Park, Oak Mountain can wrap up a .500 season with a victory over Hazel Green.

“Hopefully we’ll finish on a good note,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said.

Hazel Green presents a great opportunity for the Eagles to improve to 5-5 on the season, as the Trojans enter with a 2-7 record and losers of their last five contests.

Last week, the Eagles put together a complete performance and come into the season finale with momentum after snapping their five-game losing streak with the 29-3 win over Spain Park. They forced five turnovers and capitalized in a big way.

Christian Hood’s 30-yard field goal, Connor Webb’s 1-yard quarterback sneak, and Carson Bobo’s 28-yard reception at the halftime horn gave Oak Mountain a 16-0 advantage.

Bobo nabbed another touchdown reception in the second half, and Luke Percer scored after the Eagles’ took advantage of great field position.

Percer, Webb and Jonathan Bennett combined for 174 yards rushing, while the Oak Mountain defense limited Spain Park to 59 yards on the ground.

- Sam Chandler contributed to this report.