By Gary Lloyd
It didn’t feel like one of the final spots in the race for a Class 6A, Region 6 playoff spot was on the line.
Mountain Brook scored on six of its eight drives and cruised to a 34-13 win over Hewitt-Trussville at Jack Wood Stadium on Friday night.
“You’ve got to come to play,” said Hewitt-Trussville head coach Hal Riddle. “For whatever reason, it didn’t look like we were real excited.”
Mountain Brook now has an edge for the final region playoff spot. Gardendale (4-3, 3-2) lost to undefeated Shades Valley (7-0, 5-0) on Friday night. Vestavia Hills is 6-1 overall with a 5-0 region mark.
“It’s obviously a dent in trying to get there,” Riddle said.
Mountain Brook junior quarterback Jacob Carroll had a big night, completing 12-of-17 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a game-high 154 yards and a score on 15 carries. Senior running back Gene Bromberg wasn’t far behind, rushing 20 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Drew Odum was a tough matchup for the Huskies, catching eight passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Five of his receptions went for first downs.
Hewitt-Trussville junior wide receiver Cyle Moore stiff-arms a Mountain Brook defender.
photo by Ron Burkett
“They’ve got fine athletes over there,” Riddle said.
Mountain Brook (4-3, 3-2) never trailed in the game, setting the tone with an 11-play, 80-yard opening drive, capped by a Bromberg 1-yard scoring run to go up 7-0 on Hewitt-Trussville (2-5, 2-3). Early in the second quarter, Carroll found Odum for a 13-yard touchdown on third-and-10 to go up 14-0. A Fletcher Smith 23-yard field goal as time expired gave the Spartans a 17-0 halftime advantage.
Hewitt-Trussville looked like a different team on its first drive of the second half, going 65 yards in 11 plays, capping the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Blake Bailey to junior wideout Cyle Moore.
Mountain Brook answered on the ensuing drive, however, when Carroll scored on an 8-yard quarterback keeper, putting the Spartans up 24-6 through three quarters. Buddy Pell increased the Mountain Brook lead to 31-6 when he found the end zone from one yard out on the second play of the fourth quarter.
With 3:05 to play, Smith kicked a 30-yard field goal to give Mountain Brook a 34-6 advantage. With 1:11 to play, Hewitt-Trussville sophomore quarterback Zach Thomas threaded a pass through the Mountain Brook defense to senior wide receiver Riley Stokes for a 28-yard touchdown.
For Hewitt-Trussville, Bailey completed 11-of-17 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. He also lost a fumble. Thomas completed 5-of-8 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Stokes caught five passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Senior wideout DeMarcus Kelly caught four passes for 72 yards. Senior linebacker Carson Foster notched eight tackles and senior defensive lineman Chris Dixon had two tackles for loss.
Hewitt-Trussville hosts Gardendale next week in a critical region matchup. The Huskies then travel to Huffman on Oct. 24 for their final region game.
“We have to win those two,” Riddle said. “4-3 can get you in.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
