By Loyd McIntosh
The Homewood Patriots opened the 2025 high school football season with a 51-7 dismantling of their cross-town rivals in front of a large and raucous crowd at Waldrop Stadium. Homewood controlled every aspect of the game from the opening kickoff, scoring on every offensive drive until late in the third quarter and absolutely dominating the Cavaliers defensively en route to the convincing victory.
The game served as something of a coming out party for Homewood’s new starting quarterback, Kaleb Carson, who was dazzling in the season opener. The senior gained valuable experience during the second half of the 2024 after starting quarterback Will Myers was injured during the Patriots’ win over Gardendale last October. This year, Head Coach Ben Berguson has given the keys to Carson, who put the car into overdrive and didn’t let up the throttle until the backups took over in the third quarter. Carson completed 13 of his 20 passing attempts for 227 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had three rushing attempts, including one touchdown – a 40-p
lus-yard scamper down the left sideline. The run ended with the Patriots QB initiating serious contact with John Carroll free safety Judah Metcalf at the goal line. While the run was amazing, seeing his starting quarterback take an unnecessary hit made Berguson wince. “Kaleb Carson was unbelievable, but I’m trying to keep him healthy,” Berguson said. “We weren’t going to have any designed quarterback runs tonight and he got loose a couple of times. “He’s like a magician,” added Berguson. “He almost came to a complete stop and got north and scored. He’s a heck of a football player.” Displaying an infectious ear-to-ear grin, Carson said the touchdown was made possible by the blocking of the offensive line and running back Davis Griffin. “I found an opening that the O-line opened wide for me and my back picked up a huge block. If he didn’t pick it up, I wouldn’t have scored,” Carson said. “Then it was just me and #2 (Metcalf). It was him or me and it had to be him.” Carson also generously spread the ball around, connecting with four different receivers for his passing touchdowns. He connected with tight end Hayes DeCoudres on a four-yard toss with 9:17 to play in the first quarter to open the scoring. Place kicker Judson Eanes added a 38-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play in the opening frame. After the first quarter, Homewood led 10-0.
Homewood blew the game wide open in the second quarter, beginning with a four-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch from Carson to Tomon Felton on the second play of the quarter to go up 17-0. Carson’s long touchdown run pushed the score to 27-0 with 8:17 on the clock, then he connected on a thrilling 48-yard bomb to sophomore receiver Kamryn Foster with just under three minutes to play in the first half. “Coach has been telling me all week to just get the ball out of my hands and let them go be players,” Carson said. “We have a good receiving corps and running back corps and they put points on the board.” Berguson also highlighted the defense, recording two sacks and an interception by defensive back Quincy McGhee, and also praised the performance of senior offensive lineman Randall Jaquez. “Randall caught my eye all night at nose guard. He disrupted a lot and made a bunch of tackles,” Berguson said.
Overall, Berguson said, the season opener went almost exactly as planned with few areas of concern – he’s a coach, though, and will find something to correct in progress – and he is excited to see what team is capable of accomplishing. “Just a great overall team effort. I’ll find something on Sunday, I’m sure. Inside the ten (yard line) bothered me a couple of times, but it's a really good first game showing,” Berguson said. “We’ve got tools, I’m just anxious to see how this team plays throughout the season.” John Carroll’s only score came with just under three minutes to play in the second quarter.
Cavaliers quarterback Garrett Barnes connected on a dart over the middle with Metcalf, playing both ways as a wide receiver, who broke free for a 49-yard touchdown. John Carroll head Coach Will Mara said, despite the loss, he believes playing out-of-area games against high-caliber teams like Homewood will make the Cavaliers better down the stretch. “Homewood is an excellent football team. That’s why we play them,” Mara said. “That’s why we schedule a game like this. We’ve been exposed a little bit and we understand where we can learn, and everything that happened tonight we feel is correctable.”
Leading rushers for Homewood were Davis Griffin who gained 70 yards on nine attempts, and Reid Goldstein with three attempts for 62 yards. Leading receivers were Felton with six catches for 75 yards and one touchdown and David Walden with six receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Homewood (1-0) travels to Briarwood on Friday, Aug. 29, while John Carroll (0-1) hosts St. Michael Catholic from Fairhope. Kickoff for both games is 7 p.m.
