By Hayden Flatt
MUSCLE SHOALS — Coach Chris Yeager and his Mountain Brook Spartans spent the past two seasons wondering what could have been and what they had to do to finish a state football playoff run.
Last Friday, the Spartans put those thoughts to rest, going on the road and defeating Muscle Shoals 28-7 in the Class 6A semifinals to earn a spot in the Super 7 Championships.
Mountain Brook (12-2) will play Saraland (13-1) for the Class 6A championship at 7 p.m. Friday at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. Saraland knocked off previously unbeaten Theodore 21-6 to advance.
The Spartans will be playing in a championship game for the first time since 1996 and trying to win their first state title since 1976, when they won their second consecutive crown.
Mountain Brook lost in the semifinals to the eventual Class 6A state championships the past two years, Pinson Valley in 2020 and Clay-Chalkville in 2021.
The Spartans were determined not to let their season end a game short of the Super 7 again, but it wasn’t something Yeager dwelled on leading up to the semifinal game against Muscle Shoals.
“I’ll be honest, I have not even let myself go there, that we could possibly be going to the state championship,” Yeager said. “There was probably a minute and a half left in the game and (the players) were over there celebrating and I said, ‘It’s not over yet.’ I thought, I’ve lost my mind.
“I have absolutely not allowed myself to even dream of that next step. I’ve got a lot of work I’ve gotta do this week because I have not prepared anything at all.”
The Trojans (11-2) sat and watched on a knee as the Spartans jumped and shouted in celebration while receiving a plaque commemorating their semifinal win. Next up is their bid for the Alabama High School Athletic Association blue map state championship trophy.
It didn’t fully hit Mountain Brook it was headed to the title game until after the semifinal game was over. Junior running back Cole Gamble had to take a few seconds to muster up any words to describe the spectacle of it.
“Man,” Gamble said, letting out a bit of a laugh. “It’s still setting in. That’s gonna be awesome. Obviously, we gotta finish the job.”
Early in the game against the Trojans, it looked as if a similar fate was awaiting Mountain Brook as it had the past two years. The Spartans’ first drive resulted in a punt, and Muscle Shoals marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead on Seth Mosley’s 22-yard pass to Bryant Basden.
That was all the points the Trojans scored. Gamble, as he has done throughout the playoffs, took charge. He rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 36, 1 and 12 yards. Will Waldrop scored the other touchdown on a 9-yard run.
“I think our guys adjusted well,” Yeager said. “(Muscle Shoals) had a great game plan.”
Tunnel Vision
Heading into the semifinals, Yeager said the Spartans focused solely on Muscle Shoals and not on playing for a title.
“There’s nothing in our field house that talks about winning a championship,” he said.
But this week that will be the main topic of conversation.
“We’ve overcome a lot of humps,” Yeager said, rattling off some of the Spartans’ victories this season. “Vestavia was a hump. James Clemens was a hump. Pinson Valley was a hump. This game, it’s a bunch of little humps to get to this one. It’s just special how everything came together.”
For Gamble it means one more opportunity to play with Spartans’ seniors.
“These guys are my brothers,” Gamble said. “I’m so glad this wasn’t my last game playing with these seniors. But we’re not satisfied. We’ve got one more. We gotta go to Jordan-Hare and finish the job.”
