Rebels come back to defeat Tuscaloosa County
VESTAVIA - The beginning of the Vestavia Hills High School football team's 17-10 win over Tuscaloosa County was much like the start of this football season. Nothing came easy, but the Rebels rebounded from a tough start and picked up a Class 7A, Region 3 win.
On the Wildcats’ second play from scrimmage, Damien Taylor ran for a 38-yard touchdown. A clock issue helped the Wildcats (1-4, 0-3 in region) take a 10-7 halftime lead, but Vestavia Hills (1-4, 1-2) pitched a second-half shutout and rallied to get the win.
The Rebels had to forfeit their first two games of the season because of coronavirus issues. Even head coach Buddy Anderson tested positive for the virus, but he said he’s mostly recovered. Vestavia Hills then lost region games against Hoover and Oak Mountain to start the season.
“There are setbacks to every season,” said Rebels linebacker Leighton Reese, who had a big sack for a loss of 12 yards on the Wildcats’ final drive. “There’s no column on that scoreboard for excuses. We’ve just got to keep playing.”
That’s what they did, powered behind the rushing attack of Taiyo Crawford and Bryant Agee. Crawford, a senior, had 16 carries for 120 yards. Agee, a junior, rushed for 91 yards on 13 carries. His 2-yard score in the second quarter tied the game at 7 and his 37-yard rushing touchdown down the left sideline on the first play of the fourth quarter gave the Rebels their 17-10 lead.
“We did a lot of things wrong, but we got the outcome and got the win we wanted,” Crawford said.
Tuscaloosa County faced a first-and-goal with under a minute left in the first half. Taylor was stopped on three straight carries up the middle, with the third-down tackle coming at 11 seconds. The clock kept running down to five seconds, but then stopped. That gave the Wildcats’ kicking unit enough time for Isaac Rodriguez to hit an 18-yard field goal as the clock ran down.
Anderson said one referee thought the third down play was actually fourth down and signaled to stop the clock.
But in the second half, Crawford’s 51-yard run set up a 22-yard field goal from Matthew McMeans to tie the score on the first possession.
“They both run hard and they complement one another,” Anderson said of Crawford and Agee. “I was proud of both of them, but we had some guys up front who were opening some holes for them.”
McMeans missed a 33-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter and Tuscaloosa County took over at its 20-yard line with 3:15 left. After two plays led to a first down at its 32, the Wildcats went backward. On 2nd and 10, Reese came through with his big sack. Two plays later, Vestavia Hills forced the turnover on downs and ran the clock out.
“We were just dialing it up there at the end,” Reese said. “It was a third down call [it was actually second down]. Naturally, we were going to bring it. My teammate, Lane Whisenhunt, hit the outside, opened that gap and I hit him right underneath."
Tuscaloosa County’s Taylor rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries.
“Sometimes he was like BBs bouncing off a tin roof,” Anderson said. “He was bouncing off of us.
"I think our defense adjusted and had a great second half.”
Michael Lawrence pitched in on special teams for the Rebels with a blocked punt.
The Rebels are off next week but return to region play on Oct. 2 at No. 1 Thompson.
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