Eagles suffer tough loss to Tuscaloosa County
BIRMINGHAM -- Oak Mountain didn’t have an answer for Tuscaloosa County’s Brylan Jackson and Frederick Evans on Friday night, but the Eagles nearly won the game anyway.
Taking over on downs on his own 23-yard line with a six-point deficit and 1:43 left in the game, Oak Mountain quarterback Connor Webb connected with Cole Thomas for gains of 8 and 14 yards and Carson Bobo for a 26-yard gain to help move the Eagles as far as the Tuscaloosa County 20-yard line.
However, a couple of close incompletions and a sack ended what could’ve been an impressive comeback for Oak Mountain, which fell 33-28.
“We did the best job we could right there at the end,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said. “The problem was we just did a lousy job playing defense all night. We should’ve never been in that situation.”
Defensively, Oak Mountain simply couldn’t find a way to stop Evans or Jackson for most of the night. Evans rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, adding 13 receiving yards, while Jackson threw for 144 yards and a score on 11-of-15 passing. Jackson added 57 yards and another touchdown on the ground.
“We knew we had to contain their ball carriers, we just never did,” Bell said. “They thoroughly out-coached us, and I probably did the worst coaching job I’ve done, certainly this year. Their kids were ready to play and they did a great job.”
The presence of Evans and Jackson was evident any time they were on the field, but Oak Mountain managed its way back in the game in the second half while slowing down the Tuscaloosa County duo.
Oak Mountain (3-4, 1-4 Region 3) seemed to change the game’s momentum late in the second quarter, despite trailing by two scores. Down 27-14, Webb connected with Nathan Jones for a 13-yard touchdown with 3 seconds left in the half to cut Tuscaloosa County’s lead to 27-21 at the break.
The Eagles then took their first lead of the game on their next drive — their first of the second half.
Oak Mountain forced Tuscaloosa County (2-6, 1-4 Region 3) to turn the ball over on downs on the Eagles' 25, then traveled 75 yards in six plays. The drive, which lasted just more than 2 minutes, was capped off by a 44-yard touchdown run by Luke Percer.
That, however, is when Evans and Jackson took the game back.
With Oak Mountain leading 28-27, Evans’ number was called the first five plays of Tuscaloosa County’s ensuing drive. He picked up a total of 28 yards in those carries and later finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. In total, Evans had 14 carries in the third quarter alone, rushing for 55 yards and the game-deciding score.
“They were just doing a good job of being physical up front,” Bell said. “We weren’t doing a good job of fitting our gaps and were missing too many run fits. We gave up too many creases inside and we couldn’t keep the edge. Then we didn’t do a good job tackling for the third week in a row. If you can’t tackle better than that you’re not going to win a lot of ballgames.”
Oak Mountain was led by Webb, who threw for 145 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-16 passing. He added 45 yards rushing. Percer tallied 101 yards and a score on the ground, while Jonathan Bennett rushed for 22 yards and two touchdowns. Bobo had 40 yards receiving, and Thomas had 47. Defensively, Zach Nelson had an interception.
The Eagles hit the road next week when they face Mountain Brook.