Eagles seniors lead the way to win
BIRMINGHAM — In a way, Senior Night is a milestone. Seniors are still in high school, but the transition into adulthood is imminent.
On Senior Night at Heardmont Park on Friday, Oak Mountain High School players were like little kids again, running and falling in the mud. The field was muddy and swampy due to the recent flooding, but that didn’t stop the No. 8 Eagles from dominating Tuscaloosa County 47-3 in a Class 7A, Region 3 game.
“I love playing in the mud,” said senior wide receiver Cade George.
Oak Mountain led 7-0 after the first quarter on a 30-yard touchdown from quarterback Evan Smith to C.J. Branson. Tuscaloosa County cut the deficit to 7-3 when Isaac Rodriguez made a 20-yard field goal early in the second quarter. From there, Oak Mountain (6-1, 4-1 in region) poured it on.
Branson rushed for a 10-yard touchdown and Jah’Ki Mullens grabbed a 20-yard pick-six five seconds later to extend the lead to 20-3. Smith found Ethan Hammett for a 13-yard touchdown and George for an 8-yard score to take a 34-3 halftime lead.
Smith connected with Hammett again on the fourth play of the third quarter, this time a 79-yard bomb over the middle. Quest Agee scooped up a Wildcats fumble in the fourth quarter and raced 92 yards for the game’s final touchdown.
All seven Oak Mountain touchdowns were scored by seniors.
“I think it means a lot to them (the seniors),” said first-year Eagles head coach Tyler Crane. “They came out and played hard. They jumped on them pretty quick and stayed up, which is what we told them we had to do. This group of guys has worked really hard to get to where we are. It makes me proud to see what they’ve been able to accomplish.”
Smith finished 8-of-12 for 178 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Hammett grabbed five of those passes for 135 yards and two scores. Trey Vassell led the ground game with 46 yards on nine carries. Branson finished with 35 yards on eight carries.
Defensively, Oak Mountain held Tuscaloosa County (1-6, 0-5) to 269 total yards. In addition to the two touchdowns the defense scored, Devan Moss had an interception and Caleb Jaworski recovered a fumble.
“We’ve still got a lot of things we need to fix, but I thought for the most part our kids played hard,” Crane said. “They executed about as good as you can expect. Obviously the surface isn’t the greatest in the world. That’s just part of it. I didn’t know we were going to play in a cow pasture tonight.”
For Tuscaloosa County, quarterback Brax Garrison was 13-of-25 for 149 yards and two interceptions. Kevin Riley led the rushing attack with 51 yards on 12 carries.
Oak Mountain’s final three games are a gauntlet, and it starts with a trip to top-ranked Thompson (8-0) next week. The Eagles host No. 9 Hewitt-Trussville in its final region game and finishes the season by hosting Class 6A top-ranked Clay-Chalkville on Oct. 28.
“Try to be 1-0, just like always,” Crane said. “It’s no different. (Thompson is) really good, but we’re going to give them everything we’ve got.”