Rebels fall to Patriots to begin season
HOMEWOOD – The Homewood High School football team knocked off Vestavia Hills, 6-0, on Friday night, snapping a string of 10 consecutive Rebel victories over the Patriots.
“They just outplayed us,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said. “They did a great job. Hats off to them and Coach Berguson. They’ve got some players and they did a good job. They did what they needed to do to win and they did a good job of it.”
A pair of field goals and a lockdown defensive effort proved the difference.
The only dents on the Waldrop Stadium scoreboard came via the left foot of Homewood kicker Lane Gilchrist, but that was all the Patriots needed, in a game filled with almost twice as many punts as total points scored.
Gilchrist poked a 35-yard field goal through the uprights in the first quarter, and that 3-0 margin remained until his 28-yard try with 3:14 remaining in the game, to give the Patriots the 6-0 lead.
The Rebels (0-1) were unable to gain much traction throughout the contest, as they completed just 3-of-10 passes for 12 yards. William Schaffeld and Reed Stockton provided the punch on offense, combining for Vestavia’s 149 rushing yards.
Vestavia crossed midfield once in the game, midway through the second quarter, but the drive ended abruptly after Homewood recovered a fumble.
The Rebels defense played well, surrendering just 222 total yards of offense.
Homewood (2-0) quarterback Larkin Williams finished 15-of-20 through the air for 113 yards, and picked up 85 yards rushing. TyShawn Buckner led the Patriots with 59 yards on five grabs.
The most impactful drive of the game came on Homewood’s final one. The Patriots took nearly six minutes off the clock in a 13-play drive, notching Gilchrist’s second field goal with 3:14 to play.
“We bent a lot, they took a lot of time off the clock, but that’s part of it,” Anderson said. “A lot of room for us to improve. We’re going to go to work.”
Sean Smyth got the start at quarterback for Vestavia, as projected starter Coleman Petway did not dress for the game.
Vestavia Hills begins region play by hosting Spain Park next week, while Homewood takes on Parker.