By Lee Davis
Lightning was plentiful at Vestavia Hills’ football opener against Homewood on Aug. 28.
Some of the bolts came from the sky, which resulted in a 62-minute delay at halftime.
The other lightning strikes came on the field, as the Rebels overwhelmed the Patriots 41-7 at Waldrop Stadium. Vestavia exploded on the second play from scrimmage when quarterback Brett Jones connected with Nolan Turner for a 63-yard touchdown bomb to give the Rebels an early 7-0 lead.
Vestavia dominated the rest of the evening, with Walker Minor running for 101 yards on 21 carries for three touchdowns. The Rebel defense held the potent Homewood ground attack to a mere 67 yards and forced three turnovers.
“I was really proud of how we came out and played,” said Vestavia coach Buddy Anderson. “Our offense, defense and special teams all came together and did a good job.”
Anderson, despite being the winningest coach in the history of high school football in Alabama, has had his share of critics in recent years. They say his offensive schemes are outdated and his game plans are too conservative.
The simple truth is that Anderson believes that the same attributes that won football games 10 and 20 years ago, a strong running attack and rugged defensive play, will also win games in 2015. Trendy offenses may come and go, but over the long haul, basic fundamentals-driven football is always going to be successful. Anderson has more than 300 victories and two state championships to prove it.
And often, Anderson’s reputation for conservatism can work to Vestavia’s advantage. For example, who was looking for that 63-yard touchdown pass on the second play from scrimmage against Homewood? Frequently, the Rebels have surprised an opponent with a gadget play that was anything but conservative.
After nearly 40 years as Vestavia’s head coach, Anderson hasn’t given any indication he’ll be retiring anytime soon.
Spartan Comeback
Another interesting takeaway from the first real weekend of the season was Mountain Brook’s rousing 16-14 comeback win over Huntsville. The Spartans trailed 14-3 at halftime before storming back to victory.
And while Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager tried to minimize it in pre-season conversation, there’s no question that the ghost of 2014 hung over the Spartans as fall practice began. Mountain Brook lost three games, literally on the last play, on the way to a disappointing 3-7 mark. So coming back from adversity to score a win over a good Crimson Panther team will do far more for the Spartans’ collective psyche than any 40-0 domination of a hapless opponent would have done.
Another team that probably feels better about itself is Spain Park. The Jaguars bounced back from a heart crushing overtime loss to Austin to rout Hueytown. But as we have seen repeatedly, in Class 7A football there’s rarely much time to savor a victory.
Steele City
Amid the opening of the football season is a bit of basketball news. Former John Carroll star Ronald Steele, who led the Cavaliers to state championships in 2003-2004, is returning to his alma mater to coach the girls basketball team. Steele played at the University of Alabama and professionally in Europe before coming back to John Carroll.
Steele’s addition turns the Cavalier basketball coaching tandem into a brother act. Ronald’s younger brother Andrew directs the fortunes of John Carroll’s boys team.
