Rebels kick off season vs. Homewood

Vestavia Hills opens its season with a home game against Homewood on Friday at 7 p.m. Rebels legendary coach Buddy Anderson sits one win shy of tying the state’s record for all-time wins by a coach.

Vestavia is led on offense by quarterback Landon Crowder and running backs Christian Palmer and Carter Jacobs and on defense by linemen Clayton Farris and Alex Robin. They’ll be a key in taking away what Homewood likes to do best, run the football. The Patriots had difficulty running or throwing in their opener last week, a 13-10 loss at Decatur.

This 2014 season, the team has clear-cut goals.

First and foremost is to win Class 7A, Region 3. No small task with Hoover in the way, but it’s easy to forget the Rebels had the Bucs all but beaten in the playoffs, leading by 18 points. Winning the region, or making the 16-team playoff field at the very least, will keep Vestavia on track to have a shot at a state championship.

The Rebels were ranked No. 8 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s preseason poll. Region-mates Hoover (No. 1) and Spain Park (No. 4) are other top 10 teams, and Mountain Brook and Tuscaloosa County also received votes, proving that the media, at least, believe Region 3 is the toughest in the state.

Then, there’s the not-so-small matter of getting coach Buddy Anderson the state all-time wins record. That could happen as soon as week two of the regular season if the Rebels can handle Homewood in the opener on Aug. 29. The Rebels travel to Oak Mountain on Sept. 5.

Two games are tentatively set for radio broadcast on FM 101.1: Oak Mountain on Sept. 5 and Oxford on Sept. 26.