Rebels shut out Tuscaloosa County
VESTAVIA HILLS -- The Vestavia Hills High School football team sealed a perfect home season Friday evening, posting a dominant 41-0 victory over visiting Tuscaloosa County at Thompson Reynolds Stadium. Vestavia finished the Class 7A, Region 3 season with a 3-4 mark, closing its home season on a high note despite not reaching the playoffs.
“We play in a tough region,” head coach Buddy Anderson said following the game. “It’s a tough region all the way around and on any given night, anybody can beat anybody. We had our chances but I’m proud of how we came back. When we lost to Thompson we could have thrown in the towel but we came back and beat Mountain Brook and then took this one tonight.”
Vestavia Hills took the opening kickoff to near midfield, and then pushed the ball toward the goal line using their patented triple option offense. Tailback Toliver Chatwood took a trio of carries into County territory before senior fullback Steven Thackerson broke off a 24-yard touchdown run.
A defensive stop by the Rebels halted a Wildcat drive late in the first quarter, as they continued to sputter offensively. Tuscaloosa County sophomore Woodrow Washington was continually met at or behind the line of scrimmage and sophomore quarterback Samuel Cooper found mixed results on short passing plays.
Following a defensive stop on fourth down, Chatwood and the Rebels’ offensive line began to take over. The 5-foot-11 senior provided all the offense on Vestavia’s second scoring drive, capping off a streak of five carries and 60 yards with a 24-yard scamper that gave the Rebels a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After the extra point, the Rebels’ defense forced Tuscaloosa County into a fourth-and-long situation thanks to a sack by senior lineman Walter Thomas. Vestavia’s Cooper Bishop blocked the ensuing punt deep in Tuscaloosa territory, allowing Travis Saunders to recover the ball and widen Vestavia’s lead to 21-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Special teams continued to be a factor for Vestavia Hills, as the Rebels were able to down a punt at the Tuscaloosa 2-yard line with 7:12 to go in the half. Following a pair of penalties on the Wildcats, Vestavia Hills’ senior James Edwards was able to force a safety; giving the Rebels a 23-0 lead in the process.
Following the County kickoff, Vestavia closed its first half scoring with yet another dominant drive. Junior QB Coleman Petway found Thackerson with a quick pass to bring the ball to the 2-yard line before the Rebels pounded it in two plays later. Vestavia succeeded on a fake extra point following the score, running up a 31-0 lead thanks to the two-point conversion.
“I feel like we did well in the first half,” Anderson added. “In the second half we kind of sputtered but we got to play a lot of guys. I’m just real proud of our kids.”
While Vestavia may have eased up in the second half offensively, they continued to execute on special teams. A second half field goal added to the Rebels hefty lead before a fourth quarter punt deep in Wildcat territory was blocked for a touchdown. Tuscaloosa County’s Darshann Washington made a late interception off Vestavia’s backup QB, but the Wildcats could not score before time expired.
Tuscaloosa County finishes their Region 3 schedule 0-7, having been shut out in three of their final four games and outscored 76-0 over the past two weeks. Vestavia concludes its regular season at Shades Valley next week.