1 of 4
Photo by Jason Harless / Tuscaloosa News
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain's Jackson Kimbrell (10) attempts to elude Tuscaloosa County's LaDarrian Mobley (3) during the first half of high school football action Friday October 7, 2016 at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Ala.
2 of 4
Photo by Jason Harless / Tuscaloosa News
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain's Connor Wilson (34) breaks the tackle of Tuscaloosa County's Learnest III Martin (14) during the first half of high school football action Friday October 7, 2016 at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Ala.
3 of 4
Photo by Jason Harless / Tuscaloosa News
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain's Carson Bobo (13) stiff arms Tuscaloosa County's Jay McMorris (32) during the first half of high school football action Friday October 7, 2016 at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Ala.
4 of 4
Photo by Jason Harless / Tuscaloosa News
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain's Carson Bobo (13) attempts to break the tackle of Tuscaloosa County's Jay McMorris (32) during the first half of high school football action Friday October 7, 2016 at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Ala.
NORTHPORT – Oak Mountain High School overcame a nine-point deficit and then pulled away late for a 38-18 win at Tuscaloosa County on Friday to keep its playoff hopes alive.
“We came out really lethargic in the first half and woke up at halftime. I’m really proud of how we bounced back,” said Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in eight plays to set up first and goal at the 3. The drive stalled at the 9 with 6:41 to play in the first quarter to set up a 26-yard field goal by Nick Carney and a 3-0 Oak Mountain lead.
Tuscaloosa County marched down the field to answer on the ensuing drive, but a false start negated Bo Evans’ 25-yard touchdown run with 2:53 to play. The Eagles went on to force a turnover on downs to maintain the lead.
However, Evans and the Wildcats were persistent and carried a 12-3 lead into halftime. The junior running back broke a 49-yard run to the Oak Mountain 33, stopped by Davis Manning. A few plays later, Tuscaloosa County quarterback Sam Cooper dumped a short, fourth-and-4 pass to Evans for a 27-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good, giving the Wildcats a 6-3 lead with 11:15 to play in the second quarter.
Evans, who finished the night with 128 yards rushing and 36 yards receiving, found the end zone again on a 26-yard touchdown run up the middle with 1:23 to play in the half to make it 12-3 after a failed 2-point try. Cooper aired it out to end the half, but the pass was incomplete to AJ Wiley, as the Wildcats’ lead held at 12-3.
The second half was a different game for the Eagles though, as they outscored the Wildcats 35-6.
“We had a sense of purpose. It was do or die,” said Bell. “We challenged them at halftime, and they certainly responded.”
Luke Percer found the end zone just two minutes into the third quarter on a 46-yard run. Carney’s PAT made it a 12-10 game.
Woodrow Washington broke a 47-yard run and was stopped shy of the goal line by Zach Nelson at the 2. Evans punched the ball in two plays later to protect Tuscaloosa County’s lead at 18-10. Connor Webb knocked away the 2-point pass to keep it a one-possession game.
Three plays later, Oak Mountain was back in the end zone after a 26-yard kickoff return by Ethan Duncan and 62-yard touchdown run by Percer, who led all players with 149 yards on seven carries. Connor Wilson ran in the 2-point try to tie it, 18-18, with 6:22 to play in the quarter.
“He's so fast. He came in and provided a great spark for us. Those are the things we’ve got to make happen. We haven’t had a lot of big plays lately, so it was good to get those in the second half,” Bell said of Percer’s touchdowns.
Four minutes later, Wilson gave the Eagles the lead, 25-18, with a 14-yard touchdown run and Carney PAT. Wilson finished with 47 yards rushing behind Percer and QB Jackson Kimbrell’s 87 yards.
Jaylin Gaines tacked on another Oak Mountain touchdown from 1 yard out with 7:45 to play, and then Jackson Murphy scored on an 18-yard pick-six to put the game away, 38-18, with 6:20 to play. Murphy also led the defense with five solo tackles and six assisted tackles.
Tuscaloosa County collected 416 yards of offense on 73 plays, but the Eagles averaged 7.2 yards per play for 354 yards.
The win gives Bell a 29-21 record in five seasons as Oak Mountain’s head coach, passing Jerry Hood (28-26) for the most wins in Oak Mountain’s football program.
“It’s more the kids. They’ve done a remarkable job. The reality is, they’ve got a chance to be the winningest senior class to come through here, but we’ve got to come out and get better each week,” Bell said. “I’m proud of these kids and how they’ve battled.”
Oak Mountain (3-4) is now 3-2 in Class 7A, Region 3 and will host Mountain Brook on Oct. 14. Tuscaloosa County (2-6) drops its 12th straight region game since 2014 and will travel to Spain Park next week.
