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Photo by Jimmy J. Mitchell
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain High School quarterback Evan Smith (9) broke out in his varsity debut. The freshman accounted for four touchdowns and led his team to a 42-9 victory over Chelsea on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park.
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Oak Mountain's Zykeius Strong tackles Chelsea's Vick Lindsey during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Turner Griffin looks to pass during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Trey Allen makes a catch during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Turner Griffin during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Conner Griffin tackles Oak Mountain's Jonathan Bennett during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Zane Nelson recovers a fumble for a touchdown during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Ethan Shaw runs for yardage during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Todd Justice sacks Oak Mountain's Evan Smith during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Jordan Smith picks up yards during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Eli Hackbarth runs for yardage during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Todd Justice rushes the passer during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's Todd Justice sacks Oak Mountain's Evan Smith during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Evan Smith during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's band performs at halftime during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Chelsea's band performs at halftime during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Evan Smith throws a touchdown pass during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Noah Young catches a pass during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Jalen Thomas rushes the passer during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Travis Thomasson celebrates after a sack during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's Travis Thomasson sack's Chelsea quarterback Turner Griffin during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's cheerleaders lead the team during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
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Oak Mountain's band performs pregame on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM – He’s just a freshman.
That’s what the Oak Mountain High School student section reminded the Heardmont Park crowd multiple times on Friday night, as quarterback Evan Smith was introduced to the high school football scene in a big way.
Smith dazzled, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for two more, as the Eagles dominated Chelsea, 42-9, in the season opener for both teams.
“Evan’s a special kid,” said Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell. “We knew he was. We’ve known that for a long time. We’re just excited to have him.”
Smith did almost all of his damage in the second quarter, as he led Oak Mountain (1-0) to four touchdowns and turned a scoreless bout into a 28-0 halftime lead for the home team.
He hit Noah Young on a 42-yard deep ball to set up Luke Percer’s 6-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. After a short punt, Smith burst through the hole and darted 30 yards to the end zone. Later in the quarter, he capped off an eight-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. And in the final minute of the half, he rolled out and found Trey Allen sprinting across the end zone for a 21-yard score.
Smith said he was anxious beforehand, but he did a great job hiding it.
“It builds my confidence a lot,” he said. “I was really nervous coming into this game. I was extremely nervous.”
Oak Mountain vs. Chelsea highlights
From there, the rout was on. Zane Nelson scooped up a fumble and dashed 20 yards to put the Eagles up 35-0 early in the third quarter. Chelsea got on the board as an errant snap went through the end zone on an Oak Mountain punt attempt, but Smith hit Cole Thomas on a 24-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles up 42-2.
Smith finished the evening 7-of-9 passing for 92 yards and the pair of scores, while rushing for 98 yards and two scores on 11 carries. The 5-foot-10, 150-pound freshman said learning when to avoid contact and putting an emphasis on ball security are paramount to his progression in Oak Mountain’s offense.
The game marked the first in Dustin Goodwin’s tenure at Chelsea (0-1). The Hornets struggled to move the ball much of the evening, but the offense broke through in the fourth quarter, as senior quarterback Turner Griffin hit Andrew Bartlewski for a 24-yard touchdown.
“When you come into this game and you’re looking for things, you want to know where you’re at,” said Goodwin, who led Plainview to the playoffs each of the last three seasons. “Our effort stayed there the whole game. We made a ton of mistakes, but our kids played extremely hard.”
Much of the difficulty moving the ball for the Hornets came via Oak Mountain’s front seven. Travis Thomasson, Jacob Fitzgerald and Will Pfaffman all notched sacks in the first half, while the Eagles forced two turnovers in the third quarter.
Bell said, “Defensively, I’m real pleased with how we played the first three quarters. They did what we asked them to do. We brought some pressure on them because we thought that would affect them, and it certainly did.”
Griffin finished his night completing 10-of-20 passes for 60 yards. Ethan Shaw was the team’s leading rusher, as he gained 45 yards on 12 carries.
Chelsea plays another crosstown foe next week, as the Hornets host Briarwood. Oak Mountain takes a bye week before opening Class 7A, Region 3 play with what Bell called “the gauntlet” of Hewitt-Trussville, Thompson and Hoover.
To purchase photos from the game, click here.
