Rebels fall at Mountain Brook
MOUNTAIN BROOK – The Spartans beat the Rebels at their own game.
Mountain Brook High School was the more physical team between the tackles on Friday night and rode that advantage to a 28-14 win over Vestavia Hills in a Class 7A, Region 3 contest at Spartan Stadium.
“Their style is to play in that box,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said of Vestavia Hills. “That’s their home. The thing we wanted to try to do was play Vestavia football. They love to come at you and get downhill and we said let’s see if we can do it.”
Mountain Brook (5-0, 3-0 region) piled up 284 yards rushing behind the three-headed attack of quarterback Strother Gibbs and running backs Daniel Wilbanks and AJ Gates. Wilbanks eclipsed the century mark, gaining 108 yards on 18 carries and scoring two touchdowns.
“We like to pound it,” Wilbanks said. “That’s our bread and butter.”
Gibbs, who was battling illness, gained 89 yards on the ground and scored the late touchdown to put the game away in the final quarter. He completed 15-of-19 passes for 93 yards through a conservative air attack. Gates rushed 14 times for 60 yards.
“They came out and whipped us,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said. “We came out in the second half with a little bit of energy and made a game of it…But their offensive line wore us out. They did a great job.”
Vestavia Hills (3-1, 2-1 region) struck almost immediately, as Cooper Bishop took advantage of a missed assignment and ran 74 yards for a Rebels touchdown on the game’s third play. That accounted for almost half of Bishop’s production on the night. Bishop ended up with 157 yards on 19 carries and scored another touchdown in the third quarter.
“Defense stepped up and made great plays,” Wilbanks said. “They had one missed assignment, but after that, they were sound.”
After the initial score, Mountain Brook scored the next three touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead into the half. Wilbanks scored from 1 yard out late in the first quarter to tie the game, Gates capped off the next Spartans drive with a 13-yard scamper, and Wilbanks plunged in from 2 yards out the next time Mountain Brook had the ball.
“There’s not many times I’ve come into this game and just thought we controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Yeager. “I’ve been here 20 years, in 25 of these, the difference was the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and then the squad of running backs we’ve got. The box was the difference.”
The Rebels scored on their first possession of the third quarter. Eli Sawyer hit Peyton Walraven on a 42-yard pass to set up Bishop’s 21-yard run two plays later. Sawyer connected with tight end Michael Vice for a 30-yard gain on the Rebels’ next drive, but a missed field goal ended that threat. Sawyer finished the night 6-of-15 passing for 101 yards.
Mountain Brook’s 12-play drive bridging the third and fourth quarters effectively sealed the outcome. The Spartans converted three separate third-down plays, and Gibbs’ 26-yard run made it 28-14. One of those third-down plays was a pass over the middle to Hamp Greene for a 13-yard gain. Greene caught four balls for 40 yards on the night.
The Spartans picked up 21 first downs overall, with seven of them coming on third down. Two of them even came on fourth down.
“Third down was everything,” said Yeager.
Mountain Brook has started 5-0 for the first time since 2012, when the Spartans began the year 8-0. Next week, they take their bye.
“If somebody had told me when we started the season that we’d be 5-0, I’d sign up for that today,” Yeager said. “We weren’t ranked, weren’t even considered. Mountain Brook was an afterthought. And I agree with that. And the kids have exceeded a lot of people’s expectations.”
Vestavia Hills pays a visit next week to Shades Valley, a team the Rebels have faced each year since 1975.
“Our kids, I’ve got all the confidence in the world they’re going to bounce back and go to work,” Anderson said.
To purchase photos from the game, click here.