Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Oak Mountain’s Brady Dunn (3) dribbles the ball downcourt guarded by Tuscaloosa County’s Riley Arnold (14) during the Class 7A Area 5 tournament held at Oak Mountain High School on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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
The local basketball teams played in area tournaments last week, some qualifying for the playoffs and others failing to advance.
The Briarwood and Chelsea girls basketball teams squared off Tuesday evening in the opening round of the Class 6A, Area 9 tournament. The Lady Hornets won a defensive struggle, toppling the Lady Lions 37-27. Lexi Redd scored 12 points for Chelsea in the win. Briarwood finished a solid season with a 16-12 record.
Oak Mountain’s girls notched a regional tournament berth for the third consecutive season by knocking off Thompson 56-45 in the opening round of the Class 7A, Area 5 tournament. The Lady Eagles have struggled at times this season, but managed to qualify for the postseason yet again. Raegan Whitaker had a breakout game for Oak Mountain, posting 26 points in the victory.
In boys action Wednesday night, Briarwood fell to Mountain Brook 61-37 and Chelsea lost to Homewood 61-34 in the opening round of the Class 6A, Area 9 tournament. For Chelsea, Avery Futch and Paul Lanzi led the way with 14 points each, while Cooper Griffin took two charges to get to 26 on the season, setting a program record.
Briarwood finished the season with a 15-15 record and Chelsea finished 13-18.
The Oak Mountain boys picked up a win, earning a regional berth in the process, by holding off Tuscaloosa County 46-41 on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Class 7A, Area 5 tournament. For the Eagles, Brady Dunn led the way with 14 points. Wilder Evers scored 12 points and Evan Smith poured in 11 of his own.
Chelsea’s girls won the area tournament final Thursday evening, knocking off Mountain Brook 61-55. Sydney Schwallie led the Lady Hornets with 13 points, Haley Trotter scored 12 and three others reached double figures.
Oak Mountain’s girls fell to Hoover 75-32 in the area tournament final Thursday evening.
The Oak Mountain boys won the Area 5 tournament Friday evening, toppling Thompson 66-56. Dunn led the way with 23 points and 7 rebounds, while Matthew Heiberger notched 13 points and 8 rebounds. Evers went for 12 points and 6 rebounds as well.
The playoffs begin this week. Chelsea’s girls host Jasper on Monday in the 6A sub-regional round. Oak Mountain’s boys are into the 7A regional tournament at Wallace State, where the Eagles will face Austin on Thursday.
WRESTLING
The Chelsea and Oak Mountain wrestling teams competed in the super section tournaments over the weekend. The state tournament is this week in Huntsville, as Chelsea will send seven wrestlers and Oak Mountain had five qualify.
SOCCER
The Oak Mountain girls soccer team began last week with a 2-1 road win at Huntsville on Monday. The Lady Eagles were down 1-0 at halftime but rallied to score a pair in the second half and win the contest.
Chelsea’s girls picked up a 1-0 win over Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday, as the Lady Hornets broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the second half to earn the win.
Oak Mountain’s girls played in the Southern Shootout in the latter half of the week. On Thursday, the Lady Eagles picked up a 1-0 win over Auburn thanks to a strong second half. Oak Mountain’s boys also played in the Southern Shootout, earning a 1-1 draw with Bayside Academy on Thursday as well.
Chelsea’s boys earned a 1-0 win over Leeds on Thursday night. After a scoreless first half, Andrew Teixeira scored the game’s lone goal in the second half to lift the Hornets to the win.
Briarwood’s girls finished in a scoreless draw against Vestavia Hills on Friday night.
Also on Friday, the Chelsea boys picked up a 4-1 win over county rival Helena. The Hornets took a 1-0 goal lead into the halftime break, before Helena tied it up at 1-1 in the second half. Chelsea notched the final three goals of the match to win it.
In the Capital of Dreams tournament, Chelsea’s girls earned a pair of shutout victories Friday. The Lady Hornets defeated Montgomery Catholic 2-0 and beat Pike Road 1-0.
Oak Mountain’s boys fell to Fairhope 2-1 on Friday in the Southern Shootout. Nate Joiner notched the lone goal for the Eagles in the game. The Oak Mountain girls had better fortune, blasting Daphne 8-0.
On Saturday, the Briarwood boys picked up a 2-0 win over St. Paul’s, Chelsea’s girls won the Capital of Dreams tournament with a 3-1 win over Enterprise, Chelsea’s boys won the inaugural Melrose Cup with a 2-1 win over Pinson Valley, Oak Mountain’s girls beat McGill-Toolen 2-1 and the Oak Mountain boys finished with a 1-1 draw with Baker.
TENNIS
The Chelsea tennis teams defeated Leeds last Tuesday, with the girls winning 9-0 and the boys winning 6-3.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.
