Rebels dominate on senior night
VESTAVIA HILLS -- Last week’s heartbreaking loss to Hewitt-Trussville could have caused Vestavia Hills High School to roll over and pack it in, but first-year head coach Sean Calhoun knew his seniors wouldn’t let that happen.
On a night where the seniors were honored pregame, the Rebels picked up their second win with a 37-6 thrashing of Spain Park. Quarterback Mitchell Towns rushed for two scores and his 88-yard deep ball to fellow senior Cole Turner on the first play of the second half gave the Rebels (2-6, 2-4 Class 7A, Region 3) a 24-6 lead. Calhoun said he saw something on film during the week that indicated the bomb pass could work.
“We had that drew up in practice,” Turner said. “We knew we were going to run it whenever we wanted and it would pretty much be an automatic touchdown. The right time to take it out was at the start of the third quarter.”
Calhoun said that colleges are missing out by not putting much effort into recruiting Turner, the youngest son of the late former Alabama fullback Kevin Turner and younger brother of Clemson safety Nolan Turner. Cole Turner also completed a 39-yard pass to Max Stewart on trick play where he evaded what should have been a 5-yard loss after taking a handoff from Towns.
“He is a do-it-all player,” Calhoun said. “Colleges are missing out on him. He was phenomenal. He makes you better in every aspect of a program on and off the field. Him doing those things is what we’re accustomed to, but he was fantastic.
An interception by Vestavia’s Will Cox set up a short field for the Rebels’ first score, and Cooper Mollison took it in from 12 yards out on a reverse.
The Rebels went ahead 14-0 on Towns’ 8-yard run, and 17-0 on Jack Brewer’s 36-yard field goal.
Spain Park (1-7, 0-6) got a sustained drive midway through the second quarter, highlighted by a 39-yard pass from Mitchell Nutter to Pierson Cole. Ethan Gutowski’s 3-yard touchdown run cut the Rebels’ lead to 17-6, but they extended it to 24-6 at half on Towns’ 1-yard sneak with under a minute left in the second quarter.
After the 88-yard score, the Rebels closed the scoring late in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback John Paul Head.
Last week’s 49-35 loss knocked the Rebels out of playoff contention. Hewitt-Trussville, a top 10 program in Class 7A, scored two defensive touchdowns late to seal the win.
“That was such an emotional and physical game that could have gone either way,” Calhoun said. “For us to come out and send these seniors off on a game like this was great, but I think it’s a testament to our team. That knocked us out of the playoffs and we could have packed it in, but we had the leadership among our seniors to not let that happen. It was a great night for our seniors and these kids deserved it.”
Spain Park has not won since the opener against Huntsville. Nutter, a sophomore quarterback, got his second straight start in place of the injured Evan Smallwood, and the Jags opened up the playbook. He completed 6-of-13 passes for 56 yards (three passes for 50 yards to Cole), but did throw two interceptions and the Jags did lose another fumble.
“We tried to work some of that in,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “Playing a sophomore quarterback in this league right now, it’s tough. But he’s getting better and it’s good experience for him and I’m happy for the way he’s improved. It’s a lot on him.”
Raney said that he would find out Monday if Smallwood could play next week.
Zamir Farris was a bright spot for the Jaguars, rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries. Towns completed 4-of-10 passes for 140 yards and he rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries. Tucker Smitha led the Rebels on the ground with 71 yards on 14 carries.
Neither team will make the playoffs, but there are still two games left for each and one in region play. Spain Park will host Tuscaloosa County and Vestavia Hills will host Gadsden City next Friday.