Rebels gearing up for region play

The Vestavia Hills High School football team began the Robert Evans era with a pair of non-region games to start the season in August, taking on rivals Mountain Brook and Homewood.

The month of September brings the gauntlet of Class 7A, Region 3 play. The Rebels will play their first four region games over a five-week span.

Not that there are any easy games in region play, but the Rebels open up with a daunting test against three-time defending state champion Thompson on Sept. 2. The Rebels will be looking to snap a six-year losing streak against the Warriors.

The task gets no easier the following week, as the Rebels head to Hoover to face the defending region champs. Hoover has had Vestavia’s number in recent years, with the Rebels’ last win over the Bucs coming in 2015. It will be a battle of new head coaches in Evans and Hoover’s Wade Waldrop.

The following week features another first-year coach matchup, as Vestavia travels to Spain Park on Sept. 16, looking to make it five in a row over the Jags. The Rebels earned a convincing 37-6 win last fall, but Spain Park hopes to be more competitive this season under new coach Tim Vakakes.

After an open date, the Rebels wrap up the month at home against Chelsea on Sept. 30. With Chelsea’s rise to 7A, the two teams are region foes for the first time and will match up against each other for the first time as well. Chelsea also has a new head coach in Todd Cassity.

Vestavia’s playoff fate will ultimately be determined in October, but the games in September will go a long way toward setting them on that path.