Erin Nelson
Under the Lights.
We picked the hottest week of the year to kick off high school football season, but I think it was worth it.
In the Starnes Media coverage area, we had boots on the ground at eight football games during Week 1 — two Thursday and six Friday. It’s hard to believe this is the start of my seventh season doing this at Starnes, but it’s been a heck of a ride and I expect this fall to be no different.
Much of the talk leading into the Thursday night opener revolved around Vestavia Hills’ offense; would the Rebels be able to pick up where they left off last fall, when they averaged 46 points per game over the final five regular season games?
The answer was a resounding yes, as Vestavia took care of Class 6A runner-up Mountain Brook, 35-10. John Paul Head did John Paul Head things, and star defensive end Jordan Ross had a couple highlight plays on the evening.
It wasn’t all bad for Mountain Brook, as running back Cole Gamble still went over 200 rushing yards in the game and the total yardage tally at the end of the game was close. Head coach Chris Yeager had a slight smile on his face after the game. He knows his Spartans team is not bad, and that with a few improvements, things will be just fine.
In Friday night action, how can we not start with John Carroll’s upset of Homewood? The Cavs got the lead early and held onto it to pick up their first win over the crosstown foe since 1999. It was only John Carroll’s second win in the rivalry since 1985, too. Cavs quarterback Carson McFadden was electric, and the defense held strong late when it had to step up.
That’s huge for a John Carroll program that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2009, when current head coach Will Mara was a player in the program. Kudos to the Cavs for a big win.
Speaking of programs looking to make some noise this year, how about Spain Park’s opening statement over Calera? Granted, the Jags were the superior team, but beating anybody 55-0 is a positive step for the program. Quarterback Brock Bradley and the running back duo of Dakarai and Derick Shanks were just a few of the Spain Park standouts.
Clay-Chalkville looks like a team ready to get back on the right track after falling out of the playoffs in the first round last year. With star receiver Jaylen Mbakwe now playing quarterback for the Cougars, he had a solid and efficient opening game in the 31-0 win over Briarwood. That Clay defense was nasty Friday as well, holding Briarwood to fewer than 40 yards in the contest.
Oak Mountain got off to a 1-0 start in the Shane McComb era. McComb’s life has been anything but calm recently, as he had to leave the jamboree game against Bob Jones to be with his wife as she delivered their baby girl. He returned to the team last week and led the Eagles to a 38-30 win over Northridge that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicates.
Hewitt-Trussville fell to Central-Phenix City 48-24 in a matchup of top five 7A teams. The game turned in the third quarter, when Central’s quarterback was ruled to be out of the end zone as he delivered an errant throw that resulted in an intentional grounding penalty. Hewitt coaches believed (rightfully so after reviewing photo and video evidence) the quarterback was in the end zone at the time of the throw, which would have resulted in a safety. But he was marked at the 1-yard line, and Central broke free to score a few plays later.
Also, Central receiver Cam Coleman — a five-star committed to Texas A&M — is quite good.
Hoover and Chelsea are among the teams looking to rebound following tough losses to Auburn and Helena, respectively. Neither loss is an upset, necessarily, but both teams certainly believe better days or ahead.
Before you go, do a few things for me. Subscribe to the Under the Lights YouTube channel to get the weekly podcast, and sign up for the email newsletter that will hit your inbox each Saturday morning, recapping all of the games we covered the night before.
This week promises to be an eventful one as well. I’m headed to Thompson Reynolds Stadium on Friday to see Homewood play rival Vestavia Hills. You never know what can happen in those rivalry games!
