Dan Starnes
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain runs onto the field in a game between Oak Mountain and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Friday, August 26, 2016, at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
All the odds are stacked against the Oak Mountain High School football team.
The 3-7 Eagles are heading to Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. to face the unbeaten Huskies, an offensive juggernaut under head coach Josh Floyd, a protege of Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn.
The season has been an eventful one for Oak Mountain, as starting quarterback Wyatt Legas was injured early in the season, and Jackson Kimbrell hit his stride just in time for the Eagles to pick up the three wins they needed to make the playoffs; against Vestavia Hills, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County.
The Eagles rounded out the regular season with a 30-28 loss to Class 6A Hazel Green last Friday, as a 20-point second quarter pushed the Trojans out ahead far enough to withstand an Oak Mountain comeback attempt.
Legas punched in a 1-yard touchdown with 1:21 to play to pull within two points, 30-28. Jackson Murphy then recovered an onside kick at the Hazel Green 44. Oak Mountain pushed the ball down to the 12, facing a fourth-and-seven with nine seconds to play, but Nick Carney’s 29-yard field goal was no good.
Legas finished the game with 93 yards on 9-of-20 passing and 29 yards rushing. Daniel Salchert had 64 yards rushing on 12 carries and Kimbrell had 59 on five carries.
The Huskies come into the first-round playoff game averaging over 46 points on the season. Against an Oak Mountain defense allowing over 30 per contest, the Eagles will need by far their best performance of the season to keep the game tight.
Hewitt is not completely immune to a tight ballgame, however, as the Huskies needed a touchdown pass in the final minute to defeat James Clemens in their final regular season game.
The winner is set to face the winner between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City in the second round.
- Chris Megginson contributed to this story.
