Photo by David Leong
Vestavia Hills defensive lineman Paxton Ussery (50) lines up at the line of scrimmage during a game between Vestavia Hills and A.H. Parker on Thurs, Aug. 20, 2026, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
Vestavia Hills High School's football team used two big touchdown drives in the second quarter to pull away from Benjamin Russell, winning 23-7 on the road Friday night to improve to 2-0.
Benjamin Russell struck first, with quarterback Kingston Preyear finding Gabriel Lauderdale for a 12-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Vestavia answered in the second, with Charlie Taaffe capping a drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie it at 7-7. Hudson Mote added a 16-yard touchdown run later in the quarter, though the two-point conversion attempt failed, and Sloan Morgan's 34-yard field goal on the final play of the half made it 16-7 at the break.
Carter Stagner extended the lead in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run, and Vestavia's defense took over from there, holding Benjamin Russell scoreless the rest of the way.
Vestavia finished with 430 total yards and 26 first downs, more than tripling Benjamin Russell's output of 151 yards and eight first downs. Mote completed 13 of 16 passes for 187 yards, and Luke Stubbs caught six passes for 99 yards. Taaffe added 52 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and Noah Boylan led the rushing attack with 72 yards on 16 carries.
Vestavia Hills travels to Thompson next week to open Class 6A, Region 3 play.
