Smith rushes for 320, Eagles earn road playoff win
DECATUR – Once the smoke lifted, the Eagles were cleared for takeoff.
After Austin High School jumped out to an early two-touchdown lead, it was all Oak Mountain. The Eagles dominated the final three quarters of the game to win 41-28 on Friday night in Decatur in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
Good thing for Oak Mountain, football games last four quarters.
“I’d rather not [get down early], I’d a lot rather be ahead 14-0 and finish the game out,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said following the game. “The big thing tonight was we wanted to make them play a four-quarter ball game.”
Austin (8-3) got its early lead in part thanks to a layer of orange-tinted smoke covering half of the playing field. The smoke was dispersed as Austin took the field, but had not cleared by the time Oak Mountain (7-4) kicked the ball off to begin the game. Austin’s Jevon Jackson fielded that opening kickoff and took it more than 90 yards to the end zone.
Austin scored again on its next drive on a Quincy Crittendon 29-yard quarterback scramble to make it 14-0. But the smoke dissipated and the Eagles soared.
Quarterback Evan Smith was unstoppable all night. The dynamic quarterback scored the first of four rushing touchdowns on the opening play of the second quarter, busting through the Austin defense for a 55-yard score.
Smith finished the night with an eye-popping 320 yards on the ground on 23 carries.
“He is a phenomenal quarterback, just an unbelievable young man, really understands the offense,” Bell said. “He probably called half the plays tonight at the line of scrimmage.”
The Eagles scored 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 24-14 lead into halftime. Judah Tait burst up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown, Smith scored on a 1-yard keeper the play after a 56-yard run and Hogan Morton nailed a 37-yard field goal at the end of the half.
“We knew once we were scoring, we were going to roll,” Smith said.
Oak Mountain’s offensive line had its way all night, as the Eagles piled up 446 rushing yards compared to just 37 yards through the air. In addition to Smith’s pile of yards, Tait finished with 115 yards on 22 carries.
Austin was able to slow Oak Mountain’s momentum for a few moments in the third quarter. The Eagles punted and turned the ball over on downs on their first two possessions before Crittendon hit Christopher Lyle for a 55-yard touchdown pass to cut Oak Mountain’s lead to 24-21 late in the third quarter.
“Coming out in the second half, we probably tried to do too much instead of just being who we are,” Bell said.
But the Eagles got back on track, finishing the game with another flurry of points in the fourth quarter. Smith scored on runs of 42 and 53 yards sandwiched around a 34-yard field goal from Morton.
Before Austin scored its touchdown in the third quarter, Oak Mountain’s defense forced five consecutive punts after the Black Bears’ opening scoring drive.
“I’m really proud of our defense,” Bell said. “We give up the kick for a touchdown then the next drive they go down and score. Really proud of the way they battled back and competed tonight.”
For Austin, Crittendon was the Black Bears’ main source of offense. He completed 13-of-22 passes for 163 yards, while rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
The win marks Oak Mountain’s first playoff victory since 2014 and was part of a Region 3 sweep of Region 4 on Friday night. Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover and Thompson all won as well. In the second round next Friday, Oak Mountain heads to Hoover, while Hewitt-Trussville visits Thompson.
“I get emotional thinking about how much this group means to me. Just so proud to see them succeed and I’m proud of them,” Bell said.
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