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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills wide receiver Cole Turner. (22) extends his arm to block the defender during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills Cheerleaders run onto the field during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills students section during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Gadsden City kicks the extra point after aquick first quater touchdown during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills running back Tucker Smitha (46) fights for extra yardage during a run during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills running back Tucker Smitha (46) fights for extra yardage during a run during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman Nelson Greiner (67) during a run during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills quarterback/punter Mitchell Towns (16) punts the ball during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills defensive lineman Trey Saunders (33) tackles the Gadsden City runner during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills kicker/punter Jack Brewer (27) practices kicking on the sideline during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills wide receiver Cole Turner. (22) with a reception during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills linebacker Houston Owen (18) eyes the Gadsden City quaterback during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills defensive back Grant Downey (39) tackles the Gadsden City runner during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman Jack Dawsey (57) waits for the snap during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills tight end Rob Warnock IV (31) blocks for his runningback during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman Hoke Smith (74) lifts wide receiver Cole Turner. (22) after a touchdown catch during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills cheerleaders during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills cheerleaders during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills JV cheerleaders during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills students section during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills students section during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills majorettes during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills band members during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills dance team members during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills dance team members during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills dance team members during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills dance team members during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills players review game footage on the sideline during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Photo by James Nicholas
Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills players review game footage on the sideline during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
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Vestavia Hills Football
Vestavia Hills fans cheer during a game between Vestavia Hills and Gadsden City on Friday, October. 22, 2021, at Vestavia Hills High School - Thompson Reynolds Stadium - Vestavia Hills AL. Photo by James Nicholas.
VESTAVIA HILLS -- Cole Turner isn’t a quarterback, but that didn’t stop the senior receiver from completing a pass on the biggest play of the night for the Vestavia Hills High School football team.
After quarterback Mitchell Towns tossed Turner the ball on the first possession of overtime, Turner stopped and tossed a pass to a wide-open Rob Warnock, who reeled it in to put Vestavia up 21-14 over visiting Gadsden City.
“We practiced it all week,” said Vestavia Hills head coach Sean Calhoun. “He (Warnock) said, ‘Let’s run it.’ We have that much faith in our players; we ran it, just perfect execution by everybody.”
On the ensuing Gadsden City drive, which started at the 25-yard line instead of the 10-yard line due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Titans, the Titans looked to have their own unorthodox way of moving the ball. Running back CJ Miller picked up a fumble from his quarterback, Luke Waldrop, and took it a few yards from the end zone; however, a block in the back penalty moved it back to the 19-yard line.
On the final chance for the Titans, Waldrop’s pass fell incomplete, earning the team’s second win in a row, and leading the student section to rush on the field to celebrate a win in the final home game of the season.
“What I’m looking at … they deserve this,” Calhoun said, watching his team celebrate with their peers. “This year’s been hard. God is good all the time. We had some ups and downs tonight; we didn’t play our best.
“But they fight.”
It was apparent early on the Rebels would indeed be in for a fight on Friday night. On the second play of the game, Miller took a handoff 64 yards to the house to put the visitors up 7-0.
The Rebels had great starting field position on their second drive, following a Gadsden City penalty on the punt, giving them the ball at the Gadsden City 38. But on a third-down play, Towns was hit as he threw, forcing the ball to hang up in the air where it fell into the arms of a Titans defender.
Turnovers and near-turnovers would plague the Rebels all night, as they fumbled the ball four times, losing it twice. The Rebels and Titans both were beset by penalties, as the home team had six penalties for 45 yards, while the visitors had 11 penalties for 100 yards, including several 15-yard penalties.
Near the end of the first half, the Rebels tied the game on a 32-yard pass from Towns to Turner, who finished with 56 yards receiving and two total touchdowns. Towns finished with the one touchdown, 97 passing yards and 52 rushing yards.
In the third quarter, the Rebels had two drives move inside Titans territory, but no points to show for it. On their first possession, a balanced attack moved the ball to the Gadsden City 45-yard line, but Towns missed a receiver on third down and had to punt the ball away.
On their next drive, Towns and running back Tucker Smitha had consecutive 10-yard runs to get the ball to the Titans’ 32-yard line, but a fumble gave Gadsden City the ball back.
Although the Titans had a 56-yard pass play from Waldrop to Khamari Smith on their next drive, they turned it over on downs following an incompletion on fourth down from the Rebels’ 29-yard line.
The next Rebels turnover proved costly in the moment, as Towns fumbled the snap and the Gadsden City defense quickly recovered and took it inside the 10-yard line. Waldrop found Mason Johnson a few plays later to give his team the 14-7 lead with eight minutes left.
With the Rebels needing a chance to score before time ran out on them, the defense came up with a big stop on third down with a little under four minutes to play.
Then, it was the special teams time to shine. Jack Davis rushed past his blockers and blocked a Titans punt, and Jay Faulkner picked up the loose ball and scored from 36 yards out to tie the game with 3:44 left.
Gadsden City had a chance to win at the last second, but Waldrop’s heave into the end zone was picked off by John Martin Richter.
Following the exciting win in overtime a few minutes later, Calhoun said the win is a statement win for his team, which is in its first year under Calhoun. Although Gadsden City, like Vestavia, isn’t a playoff team, Calhoun praised its hard work and talent.
“We hadn’t won a close one yet,” Calhoun said. “I can’t be happier for our kids, our community, this school. … When you’re trying to build something, you’ve got to find a way to win a close game, and we did that tonight.
“This is by far the best win of the season,” Calhoun said.
Vestavia finishes its season at Shades Valley next Friday.
