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HUNTSVILLE -- Yeah, Buddy!
Buddy Anderson worked some playoff magic as his Vestavia Hills Rebels stunned Bob Jones 28-17 at Huntsville’s Milton Frank Stadium on Friday night.
Bob Jones of Madison had moved the game from its usual stadium in the Huntsville suburb because of poor field conditions.
Just a week ago, Bob Jones was ranked No. 1 in Class 7A. But they dropped their regular-season finale to Austin and fell to No. 4. Still, they had to feel good about their chances as a No. 1 seed facing a No. 4 seed.
They’ll have an offseason to figure out what went wrong.
The win sets the Rebels up for a rematch with Hoover at the Hoover Met next Friday. The Rebels (9-2) beat the Bucs 20-13 during the regular season but the Bucs finished second in the region, thus earning the home game.
The 28-17 final score wasn’t indicative of how much the Rebels dominated the game.
The Rebels jumped on Bob Jones and never let up.
Senior running back Walker Minor got it started with a 6-yard run with just about three minutes gone after quarterback Brett Jones had connected with Remington Patterson for a 74-yard gain. Curry Howard added the point-after for a 7-0 lead.
Jones marched the Rebels down the field again, going 65 yards on seven plays, finishing it himself with a 5-yard run just before the first quarter ended.
After Nolan Turner picked off a pass and set the Rebels up at the Patriots’ 20, Jones then hooked up with Turner for a 5-yard TD pass with 3:27 left in the half.
Vestavia led 21-0 at the half, and the rain was coming down like tears for the home team.
The Rebels racked up 200 yards of offense in the first half to just 126 for the Patriots (9-2). Morgan Long had 54 yards rushing and Minor added 38. Jones was 3-of-5 passing for 83 yards and the TD.
Bob Jones got on the board on a Matthew Stephenson 28-yard field goal to rim the margin to 21-3 on the final play of the third quarter.
But Minor finished off a 66-yard drive with a 13-yard run for the Rebels’ only second-half score and a 28-3 lead with 5:18 left in the game.
Bob Jones’ offense didn’t crack the end zone until 2:56 was left in the game. The Rebels fumbled at their 8 to give the Patriots great field position. Austin Polson hooked up with Derek Marion for the score.
Then, as the sloppy conditions came into play again, the Pats’ Kade Koler scooped up a Minor fumble and ran it back 72 yards for a TD. The extra point cut the margin to 28-17 with 47 seconds left.
But that was way too little, way too late.
The Rebels outgained the Patriots 338 to 271 yards in total offense.
Minor ended up with 140 yards on 25 carries and the two touchdowns as the Rebels rolled up 240 yards rushing. Jones was 4-of-8 passing for 98 yards.
Reid Adams led the gritty Rebel defense with six stops and Turner added five tackles and picked off a pass. Bob Jones was held to 76 yards rushing and 195 passing.
Anderson is now 47-27 in state playoff games. The Rebels are 5-0 against Bob Jones.
