Rebels take ground attack to Spain Park

Vestavia Hills (1-0) visits Spain Park on Friday night to take aim at resetting a Jaguar winning streak. Spain Park has not lost in region play since Oct. 17, 2014, and has won eight contests in a row in Class 7A, Region 3.

The Rebels will look to run behind an offensive line that helped propel the combination of William Schaffield and Toliver Chatwood, who rushed for 86 and 67 yards, respectively, last week against Homewood.

The Rebels relied so heavily on the running game in the 20-3 victory that they did not attempt a pass in the second half.

It is the 10th year in a row that the Rebels came out victorious over the Patriots. The last time Homewood beat Vestavia Hills was Oct. 27, 2006, a 28-10 victory.

“We always like coming out here and beating them because we’re all friends so it’s always nice,” said Vestavia Hills senior running back Toliver Chatwood following the game. “It’s a friendly competition. We always want to come out and start the year with a nice win, especially against a rival.”

Junior quarterback Coleman Pettway completed 4-of-5 passes for 67 yards, including a 38-yard completion to Cooper Jones.

Vestavia Hills came up with two turnovers, an interception by Tucker Queen and a fumble recovery by Travis Saunders.

“They did wonders for us,” Chatwood said of the defense. “It could have been a lot closer than it was. I can’t say enough about our defense.”

In the matchup between the Jags and Rebels last fall, Spain Park rolled to a 21-0 win over the Rebels. Perry Young, a former Jag and current University of Cincinnati linebacker, spurred his team to victory with a momentum-shifting field-goal block.

Last week in the win over Muscle Shoals, quarterback Hunter Howell was 19-of-24 for 223 yards with completions to seven different receivers. Running back Larry Wooden had a team-best six catches for 85 yards. Wooden also led a balanced rushing attack with 85 yards on eight carries. Sophomore Jalen Henderson added 81 yards on 10 carries and junior D’arie Johnson added 30 yards on seven carries.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Spain Park Stadium.