Rebels use big first half to down Huffman
VESTAVIA HILLS -- Vestavia Hills rushed for five first-half touchdowns and held on to beat Huffman 35-21 on Friday night at Thompson Reynolds Stadium.
It is the Rebels’ first Class 7A, Region 3 win of the season.
“It was huge,” said junior quarterback Coleman Petway. “We hadn’t had a region win yet. This was very big for us. We’re back in the hunt now. It’s a huge win.”
Senior running back Toliver Chatwood scored three first-quarter touchdowns to put the Rebels (2-2, 1-2) on top 21-0 after the first quarter. His scoring runs came on carries of 2, 15 and 5 yards.
Fellow senior running back Steven Thackerson added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to go up 28-0. Huffman (2-2, 2-1) fumbled on the next play from scrimmage, and Vestavia Hills took advantage. Senior running back Ray Murphy scored on the next play on a 24-yard run to give the Rebels a 35-0 lead.
Huffman sophomore quarterback Anthony Wiggins scampered 15 yards for a Vikings touchdown with 4:55 left in the second quarter. Huffman senior running back Rodarrius Brooks broke free for a 60-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 35-13 after a blocked point-after attempt.
Huffman senior Jacoby Johnson bolted for a 36-yard score with 2:13 to play. Wiggins connected with Rory McCurdy for the two-point conversion. Vestavia Hill’s Christian Rohling recovered the onside kick to ice the game for the Rebels.
“They’ve got a good football team,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said of Huffman. “They came back and fought hard the whole ballgame. It turned into a four-quarter game.”
The first half, however, was all the Rebels needed. Petway said everything was working offensively. Vestavia Hills forced three turnovers in the first half.
“We won the turnover battle,” said Petway, who rushed four times for 105 yards. “Our running game was working. It went well.”
Chatwood finished with 70 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Murphy tallied 54 yards on eight carries.
“We needed that,” Anderson said. “Our guys played real hard. I’d like to have finished stronger, but I’ll take the victory. We came out of the gates and played fast early.”
Midway through the first quarter, senior offensive lineman Patrick Nuss went down with a left leg injury. He did not return to the game, but was walking the sidelines in street clothes during the second half. Anderson said he hopes to have Nuss back next week against Helena, which beat Homewood 25-7 on Friday.
After suffering a 34-7 defeat at Oak Mountain a week ago, Vestavia Hills’ coaches challenged the players to step up this week.
“We did it tonight, which is huge for us,” Petway said. “We came out with a lot of intensity in practice. It went well.”
For Huffman, Brooks rushed 17 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Johnson added 114 yards and a score on 19 carries.
For Vestavia Hills, Jonathan Hess notched an interception, and Michael Schroeder added a sack and fumble recovery.
Vestavia Hills takes on Helena on Friday, Sept. 23 in a non-region game.
“We needed this one tonight, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time. The most important game is the game next week against Helena.”