By Rubin E. Grant Whenever there’s a discussion about who is the greatest running back to ever play at an Over the Mountain high school, one of the names near the top of any list — if not the top — is Robert Davis. Davis had a record-setting career at Homewood in the early 1990s and 30 years ago was named the state’s 1991 Mr. Football, the first Over the Mountain player to … [Read more...]
2021 High School Football Preview: New Coach Optimistic About Rebels’ Season
By Rubin E. Grant As he enters his first season replacing the legendary Buddy Anderson as head coach, Sean Calhoun inherits a Vestavia Hills football program that has made the state playoffs only twice since the Alabama High School Athletic Association went to seven classifications in 2014. Those appearances came in 2015 and 2019. In three of their seven seasons at the Class … [Read more...]
2021 High School Football Preview: New-Look Jags Will Be More Run-Oriented
By Rubin E. Grant For the past few years, Spain Park has attacked opposing defenses with a spread attack. But with several of their skill players on their offense in 2020 transferring to other schools, the Jaguars are changing their look on offense this season. “In high school football, you have to adjust your offense and defense to the kids you’ve got,” Spain Park coach … [Read more...]
2021 High School Football Preview: First-Year Coach Hopes Eagles Will Contend for a Title
By Rubin E. Grant First-year Oak Mountain head football coach Tyler Crane would like nothing better than to see the Eagles soar again this season – and even higher than they did in 2020. Oak Mountain reached the Class 7A quarterfinals last year before being eliminated by Hoover. “I would like to end this season playing at Protective Stadium,” Crane said, referring to the … [Read more...]
2021 High School Football Preview: Inexperienced Spartans Embracing the Challenge
By Rubin E. Grant If ever a coach could say his team is in a rebuilding mode, it’s Mountain Brook’s Chris Yeager. The Spartans graduated 36 seniors from their team that went 12-2 and reached the Class 6A semifinals in 2020. But Yeager isn’t feeling sorry for himself going into the 2021 season. He’s just the opposite, embracing the challenge ahead. “We’re going to have a lot … [Read more...]