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Vestavia Hills' Mitchell Langley (12) hauls in a touchdown pass in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills captains in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Spain Park's Thomas Jordan (28) after a reception in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Tucker Queen (19) in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Spain Park's Michael Allen (84) in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills runs the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Cooper Jones (33) is tackled in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Cooper Jones (33) carries the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Cooper Jones (33) carries the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Rob Barrentine (48) and Tucker Queen (19) pursue the ballcarrier in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Andrew Knight (24) defends in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills makes the tackle in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Coleman Pettway (14) pitches to Toliver Chatwood (37) in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Cooper Jones (33) in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills band in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Isaiah Flowers (11) looks in a pass in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Coleman Pettway (14) examines the defense in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills runs the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' William Schaffield (32) carries the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' William Schaffield (32) is tackled hard in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Coleman Pettway (14) throws with an oncoming rush in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Mitchell Langley (12) looks in a pass in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' William Schaffield (32) carries the ball in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills' Coleman Pettway (14) throws a pass in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills band in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills band in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills band in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills band in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson in a game between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park on Friday, September 2, 2016, at Spain Park Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Vestavia Hills could not make enough big plays, as Spain Park (3-0) dove into Class 7A, Region 3 play with a 28-14 win over the Rebels on Friday night at Spain Park Stadium.
“Our guys played hard,” Rebel head coach Buddy Anderson said. “They’ve got a good football team. We just shot ourselves in the foot too much. They made some big plays, and we just didn’t make enough.”
Spain Park quarterback Hunter Howell completed all 10 passes he threw in the first half, including a pretty 28-yard hitch-and-go route to Thomas Jordan, followed up by a 15-yard strike down the middle to Jordan for a touchdown.
“Hunter knows where to go with the ball. He’s doing what he’s coached to do and he’s having a lot of success. It’s a lot of fun to watch,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said.
The score with just over five minutes remaining gave the Jaguars a 14-0 lead, after Larry Wooden scored from three yards out on Spain Park’s first drive of the game.
Vestavia Hills (1-1) did not stay down long. The Rebels marched down the field just before the break and cut the lead in half, to 14-7, on a pass to the corner of the end zone that Mitchell Langley was successfully able to drag his foot and get the 9-yard touchdown reception.
“That gave us great momentum,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said.
However, that momentum was quashed early in the third quarter, when the Rebels committed a 15-yard penalty that destroyed any hopes of a successful drive to start the half. Anderson credited that mistake to lack of experience.
He said, “Our guys have got a lot of inexperience. You learn by experience. That’s the only way you learn.”
Vestavia QB Coleman Pettway played well, and was 6-of-9 through the air for 55 yards and the score to Langley. He also rushed for 95 yards on 9 attempts.
Howell finished the game 17-of-20 for 218 yards and three scores. Wooden wrapped up his evening with 65 yards and a score on 11 carries, with 77 yards receiving.
Spain Park extended its lead to a pair of scores on its first drive of the third quarter, as Howell connected with William Mee for a 24-yard touchdown strike down the middle.
The Rebels followed that with a nine-play drive of all running plays. William Schaffield capped it off with a 1-yard plunge. Schaffield carried the load on the ground, toting the rock 17 times for 57 yards.
Spain Park needed a fourth down conversion on its next drive, and got it, as Wooden caught a short pass, made a defender miss, and ran 22 yards for the conversion and the touchdown.
Spain Park will take on its fiercest rival next week in Hoover. Raney said he has not “even thought about it,” but knows its importance.
“Their program’s a tremendous program that we’re trying to get to. We’ll go over there and see what we can do.”
Vestavia Hills plays at Oak Mountain next week.
