Kyle Parmley
Oak Mountain vs. Chelsea Basketball
Chelsea's Pressley Rains (23) goes up during a game between Chelsea and Oak Mountain on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham.
Over the course of the year, 280 Living will keep you up to date on the various local high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
Briarwood
The Briarwood girls basketball team picked up a big 47-26 win over John Carroll last Tuesday night in the opening round of the Class 5A, Area 8 tournament. The win secured the Lady Lions’ spot in the 5A sub-regional round. In the victory, Maddie Vaughn led Briarwood with 15 points. Jalen Hunter joined her in double figures with 12 points.
The Lady Lions fell to Ramsay 70-26 on Friday in the area tournament final, but they will take their 12-9 mark to Sylacauga on Monday night for a sub-regional matchup. Briarwood already has two wins over Sylacauga on the season, and a win in the game would send the Lady Lions to the regional tournament.
The Briarwood boys team saw its season come to a close on Wednesday night, as the Lions fell to Woodlawn 56-51. The two teams split a pair of meetings in the regular season, and the Colonels were able to win the rubber match. The Lions finished the season with a 13-14 record and will see the departure of seniors Mac McNamee, Jack Dicen, Zac Nuyt, Alex Key and David Scharf.
Chelsea
The Chelsea girls basketball team secured its spot in the sub-regional round when it opened the Class 6A, Area 8 tournament with a 54-33 win over Helena last Tuesday night. The Lady Hornets were without top player Jordan Parker, who suffered an injury late in the season, but overcame her absence in a big way. Mackenzie Titus led the team with 17 points, while Sydney Schwallie and Pressley Rains each scored 10 points.
Chelsea’s girls finished off their perfect eight-game run of area contests with a 54-34 win over Pelham in the area tournament final on Thursday. Rains led the charge with 23 points on the night, as the Lady Hornets secured their first area tournament title since 2008.
The Lady Hornets are 15-12 overall on the season and host Benjamin Russell in the sub-regional round. A win would send them to the regional tournament in Montgomery later this week.
The Chelsea boys team saw its season come to a close on Wednesday, as the Hornets fell to Calera 42-32 in the opening round of the Class 6A, Area 8 tournament. The Hornets lost a coin toss with Helena for the top seed in the area tournament, so they were forced to play No. 3 Calera in the first round. Seniors Matthew Lanzi, Robert Marquet, Turner Griffin and Daniel Washington will graduate from Chelsea in the spring, and the Hornets finished their season with a 13-15 record.
Oak Mountain
Both Oak Mountain basketball teams suffered gut-wrenching defeats in the opening round of the Class 7A, Area 5 tournament on Thursday, ending their seasons. The Lady Eagles had their hearts broken by Tuscaloosa County, 49-46, on a last-second 3-point shot from the corner. Oak Mountain led for much of the game, including jumping out to a 21-9 advantage early in the second period and taking a 29-13 lead into the halftime break.
But Tuscaloosa County worked its way back into the game in the third quarter, and the two teams went back and forth in the final period. Each team had chances in the final 30 seconds to go ahead, but the Wildcats got the final look and the win. In the contest, Hannah Edwards led Oak Mountain with 22 points, while Clara Fuller hit four first-half 3s and scored 12.
The Lady Eagles finished with a 15-12 record and will see four seniors depart in Fuller, Emily Cruce, Kailey Rory and Adair Klapow.
Oak Mountain’s boys fell 58-51 after rallying back. The first half was tightly contested, with Thompson taking a three-point lead into the break. But the Warriors extended the edge to 41-29 heading into the fourth quarter. The Eagles cut the lead to a single point twice in the final minutes but were unable to get over the hump.
Zane Nelson led the team with 23 points on the night, and Evan Smith had 13. The Eagles finished the year with a 19-9 record and will graduate seniors Drew Dunn, Turner Youngblood and Antheny Carey.
WRESTLING
The Chelsea wrestling team competed in the Class 6A South Super Section tournament over the weekend, finishing sixth overall with 136.5 points. The Hornets will send four wrestlers to the state tournament, as Adam Byerman (113 pounds), Sam Ingram (170), Elliot Gage (195) and Wesley Pouncey (220) all finished in the top four of their respective weight classes.
The Oak Mountain wrestling team was in the Class 7A South Super Section, with the team placing fourth with 128.5 points. Kirk Smitherman (106), Patrick Neal (120), Sullivan Tipton (126), Cole Thomas (132), Jacob Gagnon (160), Harrison Kinsey (170) and Jacob Goldfon (195) all qualified for the state tournament this weekend.
LACROSSE
The Oak Mountain girls lacrosse team opened its season with a 19-6 win over Auburn on Sunday. Oak Mountain’s boys took care of Homewood 12-5 on Friday and beat UMS-Wright 19-8 on Saturday. Briarwood’s boys started on Saturday with a 15-2 win over UMS-Wright.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
