Sarah Finnegan
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills' Coleman Petway (14) throws a pass in a game between Huffman and Vestavia Hills on Friday, September 16, 2016, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
The Vestavia Hills High School football team took care of business last week, downing Huffman, 35-21, as the Rebels picked up their first Class 7A, Region 3 victory.
The win was a big one as far as the region standings go. After last week’s games concluded, six of the eight teams in the region sat with either a 2-1 or 1-2 mark in region play.
Vestavia Hills now sits at 2-2 overall, 1-2 in the region and got back on track after losing two straight.
Against the Vikings, the Rebels scored all five of their touchdowns in the first half, all by way of running the football.
“It was huge,” said junior quarterback Coleman Petway following the game. “We hadn’t had a region win yet. This was very big for us. We’re back in the hunt now. It’s a huge win.”
Senior running back Toliver Chatwood scored three first-quarter touchdowns to put the Rebels on top 21-0 after the first quarter. His scoring runs came on carries of 2, 15 and 5 yards.
Fellow senior running back Steven Thackerson added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to go up 28-0. Huffman fumbled on the next play from scrimmage, and Vestavia Hills took advantage. Senior running back Ray Murphy scored on the next play on a 24-yard run to give the Rebels a 35-0 lead.
Petway rushed four times for 105 yards. Chatwood finished with 70 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Murphy tallied 54 yards on eight carries.
Jonathan Hess notched an interception, and Michael Schroeder added a sack and fumble recovery.
“We needed this one tonight, but we’ve got a long way to go,” head coach Buddy Anderson said. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time. The most important game is the game next week against Helena.”
That game against Helena is tonight at Thompson Reynolds Stadium at 7 p.m. The matchup is a non-region game for both teams, and stands as preparation before four straight region games, beginning next week at Thompson. Helena is in its first year in Class 6A, after spending its first two seasons of existence in 5A.
Half of the teams in the region have an open week this week, but Vestavia Hills elects to play a jamboree game each season, thus forcing them to play 10 weeks straight.
Helena is coming off a 25-7 victory over Homewood. Both teams have knocked off the Patriots this season, as the Rebels won 20-3 in their season opener.
The Huskies lost 21-14 at Mountain Brook to open up their season. The Spartans will visit Vestavia Hills in two weeks.
After a pair of disappointing losses to begin region play, the Rebels showed some resilience by handling the Vikings a week ago. Tonight’s game will show whether or not they can gain some momentum as they head into the second half of the season.
