By Lee Davis In Olivia Portera’s four years at Hoover, the Lady Bucs have become one of Alabama’s top Class 7A volleyball programs. For all their success, however, there’s still one threshold the team hasn’t crossed. It hasn’t put a blue state championship trophy in the school’s hardware case. Hoover came close in 2015. The Lady Bucs fell to McGill-Toolen in the Elite Eight … [Read more...]
Community Chest: Over the Mountain Football Part of the Area’s Culture
By Lee Davis Gerald Gann holds the distinction of having been the head football coach at three Over the Mountain schools – Homewood, Hoover and John Carroll Catholic. When he began his career with the Patriots in 1979, the former Berry assistant showed his understanding of the importance the game held in this area. The day Gann accepted the job, he told the gathered media: … [Read more...]
Early Warnings: Patriots Survive Scare, Bucs, Jags, Spartans Win
By Lee Davis If the event planners for the Milo’s Breakfast Kickoff Classic at Samford University were looking for a compelling inaugural game, Homewood and Pelham were happy to oblige. The Patriots overcame a 14-0 deficit late in the third quarter to pull out a 21-14 victory at Seibert Stadium on Thursday night. Senior running back Chestin Jones provided the spark with three … [Read more...]
Brand Name: Chestin Jones Expected to Lead Patriot Offense in 2016
By Lee DavisOne of the first things you notice about Homewood’s Chestin Jones is his unusual first name. “My father’s name is Chester,” Jones explained last week. “When I was born, they didn’t want to name me ‘Chester,’ but they wanted something similar. So they came up with ‘Chestin.’” If you see Jones on the football field, the first thing you might notice is his … [Read more...]
The Twice of Glory: Spartans Earned Second Title 40 Years Ago
By Lee Davis What a difference a season made for the Mountain Brook Spartans football team in 1976. The previous season, the Spartans had surprised everyone except themselves in posting a 13-0 record and winning the Class 4A championship. If nobody expected Mountain Brook to claim a title in 1975, everyone expected it to win again in 1976. The talented juniors from the … [Read more...]