Rebels compete in Unified flag football championship game
TUSCALOOSA -- There were no losers in the Unified flag football championship game.
On the scoreboard, Baldwin County High School defeated Vestavia Hills, 20-6, on Wednesday. But it was a special game for players on both sides of the field, as a combination of traditional and special needs students competed in the state championship game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
“It’s awesome,” Vestavia Hills coach Terry Tingle said. “You ask any one of these kids what it means to them, this is a lifetime memory.”
The kids were afforded the opportunity to play on the same hallowed ground where they have watched the likes of Nick Saban, A.J. McCarron, Derrick Henry and Amari Cooper roam the same ground in recent years.
“They grow up seeing their heroes play here and now they get to be on the same field that their heroes are playing on,” Tingle said.
Tingle compared the moment to playing football in the backyard, pretending to be the best football players around. But on Wednesday, it was the real thing.
“They didn’t have to pretend today,” he said.
Vestavia Hills qualified for the state championship by knocking off Hewitt-Trussville, 19-6, in the regional round. It was the second consecutive state title appearance for the Rebels, who fell to Lee County at Auburn last fall.
Despite losing by two touchdowns, Tingle was impressed by the way his team played. Baldwin County defeated the defending champs in the regional round and scored over 30 points. Vestavia held Baldwin County to just 13 points until the Bandits scored for the final time with under a minute to play.
“I thought they did a really good job today,” Tingle said.
In the game, Baldwin County scored on its first possession. Vestavia Hills’ Weyman Prater broke up a third-down pass in the end zone, but Jared May caught a pass from TJ Caraway on fourth down. The Bandits converted the extra point to take a 7-0 lead.
Vestavia Hills quarterback Thad Smith — who finished with 87 yards passing in the game — was intercepted on the Rebels’ first drive, but responded on the second possession to throw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Britton Rembert. Smith lofted it to Rembert, who was behind the defense, and Rembert ran the rest of the way. Vestavia failed on the point after, but cut the deficit to 7-6.
Baldwin County threatened later in the half, but Parker Turner made the stop at the 2-yard line on fourth down to prevent the Bandits from scoring. Shortly before the halftime break, Vestavia Hills’ Annie McWhirter caught one of her two passes in the game for an 11-yard gain.
Baldwin County extended its lead to 13-6 on its first possession of the second half, as Jacob Bankster made a diving catch in the end zone on fourth down for a 15-yard score.
Vestavia Hills had a chance to tie it late, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete in the end zone.