Photo by Jonathan Norris
Cooper Bishop (41) rushes the quarterback during a game against Tuscaloosa County on Oct. 27 at Wildcat Stadium in Northport. Bishop is moving from linebacker to tailback this fall.
Vestavia Hills High School is looking to get back into the football state playoffs for the first time since 2015.
It will start, as all coaches say, by focusing on getting better one day at a time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
“We’ve got to get better one day at a time,” said Buddy Anderson, who enters his 41st season as head coach of the Rebels. “We’ve got to prepare one day at a time. I feel like last year we improved tremendously from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.”
There are plenty of new faces to learn for the Rebels in 2018.
OFFENSE
The Rebels return three of their five starting offensive linemen from a season ago, including Douglas Thompson at center and Andrew Manush. In the mix for playing time this season are Garrison Dabbs and Nathan Bullock. Andrew Cross played some games last season before an injury sidelined him.
“I feel good about our offensive line,” Anderson said. “They’ve come a long way and got a long way to go.”
Michael Vice, who holds scholarship offers from the likes of Army, Navy and Eastern Kentucky, among others, is back at tight end and looks to be one of the top offensive threats for Vestavia Hills.
The question is: Who will Vice be catching passes from? The likely option is junior Eli Sawyer, the JV quarterback a year ago. “Eli has a real good arm,” Anderson said.
Rising senior Sean Smyth is also an option, as he started three games last season at quarterback and has shown playmaking ability. In the final game of his sophomore season, he completed 5-of-10 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown and rushed six times for 73 yards in a loss at Shades Valley.
In the backfield, Cooper Bishop moving from linebacker to tailback could provide a significant boost to the Rebels offense. Josh Silverman will be the fullback.
“He will be big for us,” Vice said of Bishop.
Look for Ferguson Smith, Peyton Walraven, Chandler Merrill and others to fill the void at wide receiver.
DEFENSE
The strength of this year’s Vestavia Hills squad could be its front seven. The Rebels are deep. Hunter Salmon is a three-year starter at defensive end, as is Rob Barrentine at linebacker. Also earning time on the defensive line will be Andrew Sims, Grant McLean, Diego Melendez, Ryan Lockhart, Cal Stubbs, William White and Deven Jones.
Photo by Todd Lester
Hunter Salmon (86) during a Vestavia Hills game against Homewood on Sept. 1 at Waldrop Stadium. Salmon is a three-year starter at defensive end.
Jake Levant returns to the linebacking corps, and he will be joined by Wilson Owen, Bennett Whisenhunt, Cole Johnston, Jermaine Harris and Colton Horne.
Look for Will Brooks to start at free safety, and Sam Willoughby, Charlie Stoves and Gyasi Hill to earn time at the cornerback positions.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Caleb Huber returns to handle all the Rebels’ punting and kicking duties in 2018. Huber has participated in various kicking camps and looks to be a weapon for Vestavia Hills this season.
“I feel good about our guys,” Anderson said. “I’ve got a good group of seniors, good leadership. I’ve got several guys coming back on both sides of the ball, which is a good situation. We’ve got a good nucleus back, and five of those guys have started for three years.”
Vice is looking forward to Vestavia Hills making a push for the state playoffs.
“We have good schemes,” he said. “If we are all on the same page every play we should do some big things.”
SCHEDULE
Class 7A, Region 3 is an upward climb to the state playoffs, but the Rebels are ready to take on that challenge in 2018.
Photo by Layton Dudley
The Vestavia student section cheers on the Rebels during a game against Oak Mountain on Sept. 15 at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
“I’ll put up our region against anybody,” Anderson said. “Everybody we play is going to be a tough game, and we better be ready to play every Friday night. In our region, if we’re not ready to play, you can get it handed to you on Friday night. We’ve got to be ready for a dog fight every Friday night.”
Seven of Vestavia Hills’ 10 opponents on its 2018 schedule made the state playoffs a season ago. Region games against Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Spain Park, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County will all be tough bouts.
* Update 8/21: Since this article was published, Sean Smyth has moved to wide receiver.
