Tuscaloosa County provides Eagles chance to bounce back

Oak Mountain hopes its matchup against Tuscaloosa County is just what the doctor ordered.

A week after being beaten in every facet of the game by Hoover in a 49-6 loss, the Eagles travel an hour west to take on Tuscaloosa County, a team on the opposite end of the Class 7A, Region 3 standings.

Hoover (5-1, 4-0 Region 3) took a 21-6 lead in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way.

“We weren’t ready to play and we got to fix that,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said. “We’ve still got everything in front of us…We have to regroup.”

Bell was right in saying that all of his team's goals are still attainable, and noted that if the Eagles win out, they would likely be the No. 2 seed out of the region.

That road of three region games left on the slate begins with Tuscaloosa County. The Wildcats have faced a tough reality upon entering region play after wins to open the season against Paul Bryant and Northridge. Five consecutive losses have since followed, including an 0-4 mark in Region 3 action.

Oak Mountain's defensive numbers dramatically improved over the three games previous to the Hoover contest, and the Eagles now face a Tuscaloosa County offense that has scored just 14 points total in its last three games.

A win would put the Eagles on the right side of a current four-way tie for third place in Region 3, as Huffman, Spain Park, Thompson and Oak Mountain sit at 2-2. A loss ahead of games against Mountain Brook and Spain Park would make Oak Mountain's road extremely tough to get back to the playoffs for the first time in two years.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Wildcat Field.