By Rubin E. Grant
Mountain Brook senior outside linebacker John McMillan woke up last Saturday morning and watched a replay of the Spartans’ game from the night before with his dad, Murphy McMillan.
What they saw was another dominating performance by the Spartans’ defense as fifth-ranked Mountain Brook recorded a 31-0 shutout on the road at Shades Valley in a Class 6A, Region 5 game.
The Spartans (5-0, 3-0 in Region 5) forced four Shades Valley turnovers and held the Mounties to only 124 yards total offense. Cornerback Mac McCowan and safety Jones Beavers had interceptions and defensive end Gray Doster and linebacker Vaughn Frost had fumble recoveries.
For his part, McMillan liked his performance, although he wasn’t sure how many tackles he made.
“I think I had a good game,” he said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many tackles I had, but it was enough.”
Mountain Brook has allowed only 17 points, yielded only two touchdowns and recorded two shutouts in five games. The Spartans blanked Woodlawn 49-0 on Sept. 2.
Not bad for a team that returned only two full-time starters on defense – McMillan and junior middle linebacker Trent Wright – and two other part-time starters, Beavers and McCowan, from their 2020 team, which reached the Class 6A semifinals.
“They’re playing very, very good,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said. “We’ve had some guys who have stepped up. It’s been a collective effort with a number of people making big plays. Everybody on the defensive side of the ball has played at a high level.”
Yeager said McMillan has been the leader, “the bellcow.” It’s a role McMillan takes to heart.
“I’m stepping up more as a vocal leader,” he said. “Before this year, I was one of those guys who people told what to do, but this year I’m the one telling the young guys what to do and that we can’t take a play off.”
McMillan is not surprised the Spartans’ defense came together so quickly in the first half of the season.
“It starts with all 11 guys,” McMillan said. “We work with each other every day; we watch film together, and we spend time with each other off the field. We have formed a close bond and each person busts his tail on the field. We’re all real aggressive and we’ve got all 11 guys flying to football.
“A lot of the credit goes to coach Yeager and our defensive coordinator, Robert Evans. They have built a culture the last few years so everybody knows what’s expected of them.”
The Spartans’ defense opened the season with an impressive performance in a 33-3 rout of archrival Vestavia Hills. The Spartans held the Rebels to only 118 total yards and got fumble recoveries from Beavers and Wright in the first quarter to set up scores.
In the shutout against Woodlawn, McMillan forced a fumble and Wright returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Beavers had two interceptions.
The following week in a 48-7 rout of Huffman, McMillan had a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown, and safety Braxton Dean had an interception.
Doster and senior nose guard Tompkins have been solid up front, plugging up the run, forcing teams into long yardage situations and putting pressure on the quarterback, leading to turnovers.
“Our defense has been very opportunistic, forcing other teams to make mistakes,” Yeager said. “It seems like a different person every game.
“One of the things they’ve been doing is playing very, very fast with a lot of confidence. They have the look of a seasoned team.”
Yeager also gave a shoutout to kicker Reed Harradine for his contributions to the defense’s success.
“The neat thing is Reed Harradine has been kicking the ball into the end zone and teams are getting the ball on the 20 and having to try to drive the length of the field,” Yeager said. “So when our defense makes a stop, we’re usually getting the ball around midfield in great field position.”
Tougher Schedule Ahead
The Spartans head into the challenging part of their schedule in the second half, beginning Friday when they host Class 7A No. 1 Thompson (5-0). After an off week on Oct 1, Mountain Brook completes its region schedule at home against Briarwood and on the road against Homewood and Chelsea.
The game against Thompson will be the Spartans’ homecoming. McMillan knows it will be a difficult task containing the high-octane Warriors, led by senior quarterback Conner Harrell, a North Carolina commit. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 42-9 victory against previously unbeaten Hewitt-Trussville.
The Warriors are averaging 51.8 points per game and amassing nearly 500 yards total offense per game. They beat the Spartans 31-0 last year.
“Everyone knows they are the No. 5 team in the nation and can see the challenge we’re up against,” McMillan said. “It will be a good test for us physically and mentally.
“I think we’ll have a good game. It’s our homecoming game so that will be a lot of fun. Getting a win would be even better.”
