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Vestavia H Back Bruce Littleton (22) scores a touchdown during a game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Heardmont Park. Photo by Richard Force
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Photo by David Leong
Vestavia Hills kicker Owen Simpson (13) punts the ball during a game between Vestavia Hills and Thompson on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills, Ala.
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Photo by David Leong
Thompson running back Michael Dujon (5) is tackled by Vestavia Hills linebacker Nick Williams (5) and linebacker Grayson Bruno (8) during a game between Vestavia Hills and Thompson on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills, Ala.
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Photo courtesy of Miley Gallman
Vestavia Hills' Spence Hanna (1) makes a tackle during a Class 7A second round playoff game between Vestavia Hills and Central-Phenix City on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Ala.
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Photo by David Leong
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman JD Livingston (74) blocks Clay-Chalkville defensive lineman Patrick Smith (6) during a game between Vestavia Hills and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills, Ala.
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Photo by David Leong
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman Landon Page (64) celebrates a touchdown during a game between Vestavia Hills and Tuscaloosa County on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Vestavia quarterback Charlie Taaffe (11) throws a pass during a game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Heardmont Park. Photo by Richard Force
The 2024 high school football season was one to remember. In the Under the Lights coverage area, eight of the 11 teams qualified for the playoffs, with Hoover making the deepest run, getting to the Class 7A semifinals.
The annual Starnes Media All-South Metro Football Team, in conjunction with Under the Lights, has been selected to honor the top performers from the season.
Spain Park junior quarterback Brock Bradley had an outstanding season to earn Player of the Year honors. Bradley led the Jags to 12 straight wins and an appearance in the Class 6A quarterfinals. He finished the year with 2,667 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, adding six rushing touchdowns as well.
Mountain Brook junior running back Stuart Andrews was named the Offensive Player of the Year after emerging as the Spartans’ workhorse. Andrews carried the ball 25 times per game and excelled in an important role in the Mountain Brook offense.
Hewitt-Trussville junior linebacker Parker Floyd is the Defensive Player of the Year after helping lead the Huskies to the best defense in Class 7A. The Huskies allowed just 9.5 points per game all season. Floyd totaled 105 tackles on the year and scored five offensive touchdowns as well.
Here is the team in its entirety:
Player of the Year: Brock Bradley, Spain Park
Offensive Player of the Year: Stuart Andrews, Mountain Brook
Defensive Player of the Year: Parker Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville
Coach of the Year: Chip English, Hoover
1ST TEAM
Offense
QB: Brock Bradley, Spain Park; named Player of the Year after an outstanding season.
QB: Will O’Dell, Oak Mountain; a breakout season for the dual-threat, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and rushing for more than 1,000 yards.
RB: Stuart Andrews, Mountain Brook; named Offensive Player of the Year after running for 1,805 yards.
RB: Chase Stracener, Chelsea; ran for 1,601 yards and scored 17 touchdowns.
WR: Corey Barber, Spain Park; the leading receiver in the area, going for 1,429 yards and 17 touchdowns on 74 catches.
WR: Kylen Newell, Homewood; went over 1,000 receiving yards, scoring eight touchdowns.
WR: Zach Fitzgerald, Oak Mountain; broke out in his senior season, catching 51 passes for 904 yards.
TE: Bruce Littleton, Vestavia Hills; eclipsed 1,000 total yards as a do-it-all back for the Rebels.
OL: Daniel Ellis, Mountain Brook; allowed no sacks and was selected for the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Classic.
OL: Walker Williams, Homewood; allowed only one sack and led a potent Homewood offense up front.
OL: Mason Holloway, Hewitt-Trussville; a two-year starter and the top lineman for the Huskies.
OL: JD Livingston, Vestavia Hills; graded out at 91% on the year for a productive Rebels offense.
OL: Trot English, Hoover; Alabama-Mississippi All-Star for the Bucs.
ATH: Luke Reynolds, Briarwood; did everything for the Lions, scoring 16 touchdowns despite missing three games.
ATH: Mac Beason, Hoover; threw for 2,315 yards and 19 touchdowns, while averaging 35 yards per punt.
K: Whit Armistead, Homewood; made 9-of-11 field goals with a long of 42 yards.
P: Owen Simpson, Vestavia Hills; averaged 45.5 yards per punt, along with converting all of his extra points.
ST: Jackson Kalnoske, Chelsea; the senior had no bad snaps in three years as a starter.
Defense
DL: Garrett Witherington, Briarwood; had 13 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback pressures as the focal point of the Lions’ defense.
DL: Romello Cooper, Chelsea; racked up 56 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
DL: Colton McIntyre, Clay-Chalkville; one of the Cougars’ top players as a sophomore, finishing with eight sacks.
DL: PaLanding Drammeh, Hoover; racked up 50 tackles with five sacks.
LB: Grayson Bruno, Vestavia Hills; the leading tackler for the Rebels with 89 tackles.
LB: Cameron Torbor, Hoover; racked up 89 tackles and eight sacks in a dominant season.
LB: Na’Karius Allen, Clay-Chalkville; went for 76 tackles and notched eight sacks.
LB: De’Narrius Crawford, Hewitt-Trussville; posted 91 tackles and broke up five passes.
DB: Spence Hanna, Vestavia Hills; top producer for the Rebels, finishing with 88 tackles.
DB: Harris Crumpton, Mountain Brook; notched 90 tackles and broke up four passes.
DB: Xavier Starks, Clay-Chalkville; the junior posted 70 tackles.
DB: Will Phillips, Hewitt-Trussville; the top defensive back for the Huskies, registering 52 tackles along with returning punts.
ATH: Parker Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville; won Defensive Player of the Year after finishing with 105 tackles.
ATH: Michael Igbinoghene, Hewitt-Trussville; the Tulane signee scored four offensive touchdowns, deflected three passes and made plays on special teams.
2ND TEAM
Offense
QB: Will Myers, Homewood; despite missing two games, threw for 1,187 yards and totaled 19 touchdowns.
QB: Aaron Frye, Clay-Chalkville; threw for 2,160 yards with 20 total touchdowns in his first year as starter.
RB: Dakarai Shanks, Spain Park; ran for 1,292 yards and scored 13 total touchdowns.
RB: Aaron Osley, Clay-Chalkville; one of four backs in the area to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards.
WR: Aubrey Walker, John Carroll; played both ways for the Cavs, racking up 658 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
WR: Dylan Cope, Hewitt-Trussville; led the Huskies with 503 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
WR: CJ Durbin, Chelsea; a top target for the resurgent Hornets, catching 53 passes for 576 yards.
TE: Jabari Staples, Clay-Chalkville; made the most of his 24 grabs, scoring eight touchdowns.
OL: Anthony Mokry, John Carroll; the Cavs’ center was the team’s top lineman.
OL: Bradley Haizlip, Oak Mountain; the junior led the Eagles’ offensive line in pancakes.
OL: Rocco Gray, Mountain Brook; two-year starter and graded out at 94%.
OL: Toby Richard, Hoover; the 6-foot-3, 305-pound lineman helped lead the Bucs to the semifinals.
OL: Landon Page, Vestavia Hills; the senior had 85 knockdowns on the season.
ATH: Jonah Winston, Hoover: played several roles for the Bucs offense, scoring five rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns and playing some quarterback.
ATH: Charlie Taaffe, Vestavia Hills; accounted for nearly 2,500 total yards in first year as starting quarterback.
K: Josh Renfro, Oak Mountain; capped off his season with a 43-yard game-winning field goal against Chelsea.
P: Drew Ollis, Hewitt-Trussville; averaged 39.8 yards per punt along with playing defensive line.
ST: Hardy Butler, Homewood; the junior long snapper has been rated one of the top in his class.
Defense
DL: Ethan Walton, Oak Mountain; totaled 58 tackles, including 16 for loss.
DL: Boyd Cooper, Mountain Brook; finished with 47 tackles, three forced fumbles and 11 quarterback pressures.
DL: Justyn Hartley, Hoover; had seven sacks to lead the Bucs defense.
DL: Patrick Smith, Clay-Chalkville; had six sacks for the Cougars.
LB: Hampton King, Mountain Brook; had 66 tackles, including 10 for loss.
LB: Briston Hardy, Chelsea; posted 128 total tackles on the year, with five pass breakups among several impressive stats.
LB: Trust Darnell, Homewood; finished with 96 tackles, including 12 for loss.
LB: EJ Kerley, Spain Park; posted 140 tackles, tops in the area.
DB: CJ Tidmore, Homewood; posted 78 tackles from the secondary.
DB: Deon Callins, Clay-Chalkville; had 60 tackles.
DB: Sam Canale, Briarwood; emerged as a top player for the Lions, posting 58 tackles and three interceptions.
DB: Joe Cross, Spain Park; intercepted five passes.
ATH: Jamar Moultrie, Hoover; played defensive back and returned kicks for the Bucs.
ATH: Rylan Hamm, Briarwood; the Lions’ leading tackler with 78 tackles on the year.
HONORABLE MENTION
RB: Marty Myricks, Oak Mountain; Evan Ausmer, Homewood; Deuce Alston, Hewitt-Trussville; James Kelly, Hewitt-Trussville; Joshua Woods, Clay-Chalkville; CJ Cowley, Spain Park.
WR: Chris Warren, Hoover.
TE: Jackson Martin, Hewitt-Trussville; Brayden Robertson, Briarwood.
OL: Caleb Boylan, Vestavia Hills; Luke Kelly, Oak Mountain; Storm Fain, Hoover; Christian Bennett, Clay-Chalkville; JT Jones, Clay-Chalkville; Adam Brooks, Chelsea; Will Pohlmann, Chelsea; Barnabas Karanja, Briarwood; Hudson Reed, Spain Park; Jackson Bell, Spain Park; Carter Fountain, Briarwood.
K: Garrett Heinemann, Briarwood; Joseph Del Toro, Clay-Chalkville.
ATH: Kaleb Carson, Homewood; CJ Davis, Hewitt-Trussville.
DL: Joey Lewis, Oak Mountain; Will Ray, Homewood; Tyson Bacon, Hoover; D’ante Seals, Hewitt-Trussville; Baasel Alabsi, Hewitt-Trussville; Randell Cole, Clay-Chalkville; Nic Gagliano, John Carroll.
LB: Jacob Watson, Vestavia Hills; William Yoder, Oak Mountain; Colton Moore, Oak Mountain; Miller Lee, Mountain Brook; Joey Luckianow, Homewood; Isaiah Brown, Clay-Chalkville; Porter Schott, Chelsea; Ethan Prickett, Chelsea; Brayden Matherson, Spain Park; Owen Robinson, Hewitt-Trussville; Trey Sanders, Hoover.
DB: Jayden Aparicio-Bailey, Oak Mountain; Kolby King, Oak Mountain; DK Bolden, Hoover; Maleik Smiley, Homewood; John Griffin, Homewood; Caden Ali, Hewitt-Trussville; Sam Parrish, Chelsea.
Starnes Media's publications cover several communities throughout the Birmingham metro area. Schools included for consideration on this team were Briarwood, Chelsea, Clay-Chalkville, Hewitt-Trussville, Homewood, Hoover, John Carroll, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills. The team was selected by Starnes Media’s sports department, in collaboration with the coaches.
