Photo by James Nicholas
Spain Park Head coach Tim Vakakes during a game between Spain Park and Calera High Schools on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at Jaguar Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
Following last week’s games, the high school playoff picture is becoming a little clearer. Of the 11 teams the Under the Lights brand covers, eight of them will be playing in the state playoffs, which begin Nov. 8.
Last Friday night, Hoover and Spain Park locked up region championships.
The Bucs won a thriller at Thompson, prevailing 27-26 in overtime. The defensive struggle I foresaw never really materialized, as both teams played well throughout a back-and-forth game. Jonah Winston was the standout on Hoover’s offense, scoring two key touchdowns — one on a fourth down and the other in overtime — to push the Bucs over the finish line.
I can only imagine what was going through Matthew Daibes’ mind when Thompson missed the extra point after scoring first in overtime. The word that came to his mind was “routine,” knowing all he had to do was convert one of the most taken-for-granted plays in football after the Bucs matched that touchdown.
Hoover has now won Region 3 in three of the last four years. Now, if the Bucs could just find a way over that playoff hump.
Spain Park left nothing to chance or drama, rolling past Calera 42-7 to improve to 8-0 overall and lock up the Class 6A, Region 3 championship. The Jags are rolling toward their best regular season in program history on top of it.
In the other region title games, Clay-Chalkville suffered a 21-10 loss at Oxford and Homewood fell to Parker 27-17.
Clay jumped out to a 10-0 lead but was unable to sustain the momentum, as Oxford handed the Cougars their first loss of the year. Clay will finish second in Region 6 and will still host a first-round playoff game in a few weeks.
Homewood competed well against Parker, but once again had starting quarterback Will Myers go out with an injury. The Patriots travel to Minor this week with second in the region on the line.
Mountain Brook had no trouble with Huffman, cruising to a 42-0 win last Thursday. The Spartans heeded their coach’s message of respecting all opponents and they lock up the third spot in the region with one more win this week at Shades Valley.
Chelsea suffered a second straight loss, fighting back but falling to Helena 38-28. The Hornets are still locked into the playoffs, but now make a trip to Benjamin Russell this Friday. The winner will be the No. 3 seed in Region 3, and the loser No. 4.
Unfortunately, Briarwood’s playoff hopes came to an end, as John Carroll fell to Corner 34-27.
In other Class 7A, Region 3 action, Hewitt-Trussville blasted Oak Mountain 63-0 and Vestavia Hills blew out Tuscaloosa County 42-0.
Hewitt should have no trouble with County this week, while Vestavia wraps up region play at Hoover against its biggest rival.
What we have in Week 10 will wrap up region play for most teams throughout the state. The playoff picture for all of our teams will likely be solidified following this slate, unless tiebreakers come into play.
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Here’s an early look at the Week 10 slate:
- Homewood at Minor (Thursday)
- Mountain Brook at Shades Valley (Thursday)
- Briarwood at Hayden
- Chelsea at Benjamin Russell
- Clay-Chalkville at Pinson Valley
- Hewitt-Trussville at Tuscaloosa County
- Vestavia Hills at Hoover
- Oak Mountain vs. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa
- Spain Park at Chilton County
This is a weekly column from sports editor Kyle Parmley. Follow him on X at @KyleParmley.
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