Vestavia Hills Comes Up Short To Hewitt-Trussville, 28-14
By Loyd McIntosh
Vestavia Hills had no answers to a pounding running attack by Hewitt-Trussville, suffering its
first loss to the Huskies Friday night in Trussville, 28-14.
Despite a solid effort by quarterback Charlie Taaffe and a stout defensive showing keeping the
game even for most of the night, the Rebels ran out of gas as Hewitt-Trussville pulled away late
in 7A Region 3 action.
The first quarter was a defensive slugfest as neither team could find its rhythm on offense. The
Huskies finally put points on the board with just under one minute to play in the opening quarter
on a 12-yard pass from Jack Floyd to James Kelly, to take a 7-0 lead.
Vestavia Hills responded midway into the second quarter, capping off an 83-yard drive with a
one-yard touchdown plunge by running back Carson Purdy – his first of two scores – with 5:44,
to even the score 7-7.
The Rebels’ defense held off a Husky drive with a deflection in the end zone by strong safety
Walker Hogue as time expired, preserving the 7-7 logjam at halftime.
Hewitt-Trussville opened the third quarter with a pounding 78-yard drive featuring running back
Delvecchio “Deuce” Alston, putting the Huskies up 14-7, with a two-yard touchdown at the 8:13
mark.
Vestavia Hills answered, as Taaffe led the Rebels on an impressive drive of their own, capped off
with a pounding six-yard touchdown run by Purdy, dragging several members of the Husky defense
across the goalline. With just under five minutes to play in the third quarter, Vestavia Hills and
Hewitt-Trussville were knotted up, 14-14.
The Huskies dominated the remainder of the game as “Deuce” Alston took over, scoring on a 73-
yard dash down the right sideline on the next drive, pushing the Hewitt-Trussville lead to 21-14. The
Huskies put the game out of reach for Vestavia Hills following a 12-yard touchdown by Floyd midway
through the fourth quarter.
Although the Rebels balanced offensive attack put up 303 total yards (150 yards rushing, 153 yards
passing), and the defense was solid most of the night, third down was a problem for Vestavia Hills
on both sides of the ball.
The offense failed to convert on third down throughout the game, forcing the Rebels to go for it on
fourth down multiple times, failing twice at critical moments in the second half. Likewise, the defense
struggled to contain the Huskies’ hurry-up offense, especially on third-and-long situations, and didn’t
force Hewitt-Trussville to punt or attempt a field goal.
With the loss, Vestavia Hills drops to 2-1 overall, but 0-1 in one of the toughest regions in the state.
Also, several Rebels left the field with injuries on Friday, including Hogue, who didn’t return for the
second half. Regardless, Vestavia Hills Head Coach Robert Evans believes they have the talent to
compete with anyone in 7A Region 3.
“Hewitt’s a really good team. They’re probably one of the top two or three teams in the state. We’re
not too far behind. It was 14-all going into the fourth,” said Evans. “They popped the one long run,
and that broke the sail in our kids.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of our kids, but that’s life in our region,” Evans added. “We’ve got to figure out
a way to not let one loss turn into two.”
Taaffe completed 14 of 20 passing attempts for 152 yards and one interception on a tipped pass
early in the second quarter. Price Lemaster completed 1 of 2 attempts for one yard. Taaffe was the
Rebels’ leading rusher, gaining 55 yards on 19 attempts, followed by Purdy with 39 yards on 8
attempts, and Lemaster with 30 yards on 3 attempts.
Stubbs led Vestavia Hills in receiving with 7 catches for 75 yards, followed by Zachary Laws with 58
yards on 3 receptions.
Vestavia Hills will host Hillcrest in a key Region 3 contest at 7 pm on Friday, September 12.
In Other action:
Hueytown 27, Mountain Brook 30
Mountain Brook rebounded from last week’s loss to defending state champion Parker with a nail-biting, back-and-forth 30-27 win over area rival Hueytown Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans jumped out to an early lead on a 52-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Cayden Hofbauer with just over 7 minutes to play in the first quarter. Hueytown got on the board late in the opening period with a 32-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Golden Gophers took the lead less than a minute into the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass, moving ahead 10-7. Mountain Brook responded with a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Stuart Andrews to reclaim the lead, 14-10, with 7:21 to play in the half. The Spartans extended the margin to 21-10 following a Hueytown turnover, as Hofbauer connected with Sam Smith for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
Hueytown answered before halftime, closing the gap to 21-17 on a 25-yard touchdown strike from Jaedyn Powell to Kamar Eatmon with just 44 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Mountain Brook carried that four-point lead into the break.
In the third quarter, the Spartans stretched the advantage to 24-17 on a 20-yard field goal by Anderson Roberts. Later in the period, Roberts missed a 36-yard attempt, and Mountain Brook clung to its seven-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Hueytown tied the game at 24-24 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Anthony Robinson with 8:24 left in regulation. Neither team scored again in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.
Hueytown struck first with a field goal to go up 27-24. However, Hofbauer connected with Sam Smith
on an 8-yard touchdown pass to win the game for the Spartans, 30-24.
With the win, Mountain Brook improves to 2-1 overall, 1-0 in 6A Region 6 play. Mountain Brook will
be on the road to face the Pell City Panthers in a key region matchup at 7 pm, Friday, September
12.
and 348 yards in the first half alone.
Mortimer Jordan 7, Homewood 49
Homewood opened 6A Region 7 play with a 49-7 throttling of Mortimer Jordan Friday night at Waldrop Stadium, improving to 3-0 on the season.
Patriots quarterback Kaleb Carson continued his outstanding play, throwing for four touchdowns and 348 yards in the first half alone. The Homewood defense was equally dominant, holding the Blue Devils to just 13 yards before halftime as the Patriots built a commanding 35-0 lead going into the locker room.
The second-team offense took over in the second half, led by junior quarterback Jack Myers, who completed 6 of 8 passes for 59 yards and one touchdown.
Other standouts included Chappy Chapleau, who scored two first-half touchdowns, as well as long scoring receptions from Tomon Felton and Davis Griffin.
With the win, Homewood improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Region 7 play, and climbed to No. 9 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association high school football poll, released each Wednesday during football season.
The Patriots will travel to Woodlawn on Friday, September 12, for their second Region 7 matchup of the 2025 season.
