Photo by David Leong
Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans congratulates his team after a 28 to 14 victory during a game between Vestavia Hills and Clay-Chalkville on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills, Ala.
The “second season,” as Mountain Brook High School football coach Chris Yeager refers to it, is upon us.
The regular season is in the rearview mirror, with half the teams in the state qualifying for the playoffs.
Let’s take one more look back at what happened in Week 11 before running full-speed ahead into the postseason.
Three teams from the Under the Lights coverage area played their final games of the season last Friday. All three of them won as well.
Briarwood finished off one of the most impressive turnarounds you’ll see, beating McAdory 55-35 to get to 5-5 on the year. The Lions went from 0-5 to 5-5, and it’s a shame that they missed out on the playoffs. Running back Luke Reynolds saved his best for last, going over 200 rushing yards and scoring five touchdowns in the final game of his career.
Oak Mountain knocked off county rival Chelsea 16-14 on sophomore Josh Renfro’s 43-yard game-winning field goal. The Eagles didn’t qualify for the playoffs, but improved from one win in 2023 to four wins this year, in Shane McComb’s second season as head coach.
John Carroll finished off the year with a 38-20 win over West Blocton. The Cavs finished with a disappointing 3-7 record, but showed marked improvement throughout the season. Narrow losses to strong teams like Briarwood and Corner preceded the season-ending win. There is much to look forward to in 2025 for the Cavs.
Now, for the playoff teams that played last week.
Vestavia Hills notched its most impressive win of the year with a 28-14 victory over Class 6A defending state champion Clay-Chalkville. The Rebels are confident heading into the postseason, and will be a team no one wants to play. Clay-Chalkville, on the other hand, is searching for answers following the end of the regular season. The Cougars are still a contender, but will need to up their level quickly.
Homewood continues to impress, this time with a 24-10 win over 7A James Clemens. The Patriots were up three touchdowns at one point, doing so behind starting quarterback Kaleb Carson for a second straight game. The Homewood defense is peaking at the right time as well.
Spain Park finished off its first perfect season in program history after beating Gardendale 35-12. The Jags will take their 10-0 record into the playoffs, looking to make a deep postseason run for the first time since making it to the state championship game in 2015.
Stay tuned to the schedule this week, as impending weather may force some changes. Chelsea’s game at Saraland has already been moved up to Thursday at the time of this writing.
Be sure to follow Under the Lights on social media and sign up for the Saturday morning newsletter to have all of the weekend’s coverage sent directly to your inbox, all in one place.
Also, subscribe to the Under the Lights podcast presented by SYNLawn Alabama on YouTube, to be the first to know where we’ll be headed for our Game of the Week this Friday.
Here’s an early look at this week's playoff slate:
- Chelsea at Saraland (Thursday)
- Vestavia Hills at Mary G. Montgomery
- Hewitt-Trussville at Baker
- Hoover vs. Fairhope
- Mountain Brook at Southside-Gadsden
- Homewood vs. Athens
- Clay-Chalkville vs. Gadsden City
- Spain Park vs. McGill-Toolen
This is a weekly column from sports editor Kyle Parmley. Follow him on X at @KyleParmley.
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