Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Cross-country sectionals
Chelsea’s Cady McPhail makes her way to the finish line, claiming first place, during the Spain Park 6A Section 4 meet at Veterans Park hosted by Spain Park High School on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. 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.
FOOTBALL
The Briarwood and Oak Mountain football teams kept their seasons alive with comeback victories in the first round of the state playoffs last Friday.
Briarwood rallied from a deficit to knock off Hartselle in the Class 6A playoffs. Click here for a recap of the game and a summary of Tyler Waugh’s dominant performance.
Oak Mountain dug out of a quick 14-0 hole to beat Austin 41-28 and earn the program’s first playoff win in six years. Click here for the story behind the win and Evan Smith’s monster night in the 7A first round.
This Friday, Briarwood heads to top-ranked Oxford and Oak Mountain travels to Hoover in the second round.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The localross-country teams competed in the section meet at Veterans Park in Hoover last Thursday. The boys and girls teams from Briarwood, Chelsea and Oak Mountain all placed in the top four as a team, meaning they will advance to compete at the state tournament next week.
In the Class 6A, Section 4 meet, Chelsea’s girls and Briarwood’s boys placed third, while Chelsea’s boys and Briarwood’s girls finished fourth. Chelsea’s Cady McPhail won the race in 19:19, while Mary Grace Parker paced Briarwood with a fifth-place finish. On the boys side, Miles Brush of Chelsea finished second, while Briarwood’s Trent Malloy came across in fourth.
In the 7A, Section 3 meet, Oak Mountain’s boys were third and the girls were fourth. Walker Cole (second) and Hunter Wright (sixth) finished in the top 10 in the boys race, with fifth-place finisher Lauren Cole accomplishing the same in the girls race.
BASKETBALL
The Chelsea basketball teams opened their seasons last Thursday at Minor. The Lady Hornets dropped a tight 49-46 decision. Ellen Fleming and Sydney Schwallie led Chelsea with 14 points apiece.
The Hornets boys took care of business, earning a 46-37 victory. Chelsea started strong in both halves, scoring the game’s first five points and then beginning the third quarter on a 9-0 run, with Warner Jones scoring five of his nine points in that stretch. Riley Edmiston led the way for the Hornets with 15 points on the night. Eight different players scored in the game for Chelsea.
Oak Mountain’s girls also began the season last Thursday, picking up a 40-36 win over McAdory. The Lady Eagles rallied from a second-half deficit to pick up the win. The scoring effort was a balanced one, led by Riley Sullivan’s eight points. Abby Gordon and Julia Tucker chipped in seven points each as well.
This week, Briarwood begins its season at Benjamin Russell on Tuesday and hosts Childersburg on Thursday. Chelsea’s girls play at Clay-Chalkville on Tuesday and the boys and girls host Vestavia Hills on Thursday.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
