If you think that the 2015 high school football season is going by quickly, it’s probably not your imagination.
Schools that played their first game on Aug. 21 will reach the halfway point of their regular schedules a full week and a half before the end of September. So now is as good a time as any to take stock of what we have seen.
The Hoover Bucs, to the surprise of no one, are off to another impressive 5-0 start. They have struggled in Class 6A Area Three play, needing late comebacks to defeat Mountain Brook and Oak Mountain.
It’s far too early to tell whether Hoover’s struggles are a tribute to the difficulty of their region or an indication of vulnerability. Clearly, Coach Josh Niblett has produced another quality team, but it may not be the invincible juggernaut of past seasons.
Even if the Bucs lose a game in the regular season, they will still be favored to win their fourth consecutive state championship.
After a heart-crushing triple overtime loss to Austin, Spain Park has rebounded with three straight victories. The best wins have been a 15-14 squeaker over an excellent Thompson team and a 31-28 victory over an outstanding Hewitt-Trussville squad.
The Jaguars will enjoy an open date before traveling to Hoover in what should be a titanic clash. Spain Park has never beaten the Bucs, and this could be the year the worm finally turns.
Mountain Brook seems to have stumbled into the same rut that plagued it last season: falling short in close games. Last season the Spartans lost three games on the final play. After opening with a 16-14 win over Huntsville, Mountain Brook lost close games to Hoover and Thompson which easily could have gone the other way.
The Spartans need a win over a quality opponent to develop confidence since their stretch run is as difficult as any team in the area. Last week’s lopsided loss to arch-rival Vestavia was a setback, but there is still a lot of football yet to be played.
Vestavia Hills is a bit of a mystery team. The Rebels scored solid wins over Homewood and Oak Mountain before suffering a loss to an excellent Hewitt-Trussville squad.
Long-time Coach Buddy Anderson has been under criticism from those who claim the Rebel offensive schemes are dull and predictable. Of course, some people were saying that same thing about Vestavia in the 1980s, as Anderson was well on his way to becoming the winningest coach in Alabama high school history.
It’s difficult to predict how the Rebels will finish in 2015, but if there’s a problem, it is not with the coaching. The Rebels’ impressive win over Mountain Brook last week could go a long way toward silencing Anderson’s critics.
Oak Mountain was the surprise success of last season, but it is surprising people the opposite way this time.
After being shelled in the opener against Hillcrest, the Eagles lost close battles against Vestavia and Hoover. Oak Mountain had the Bucs on the ropes before quarterback Christopher Vacarella put together a late drive to give Hoover a 17-14 win. While losing that game was surely a disappointment, the Eagles can build on that effort for the remainder of the season.
The schedule isn’t easy, but Oak Mountain has a decent shot in every game and turned in a good performance in last Friday’s victory over winless Tuscaloosa County.
Homewood is firmly reestablished as a power in Class 6A, and the Patriots’ 41-7 loss to Class 7A’s Vestavia in late August didn’t diminish that standing.
Homewood has a legitimate shot at winning the rest of its regular season games. But what the Patriots would really like to do is make a stronger post-season run than they have done in recent years. That achievement could easily happen this year.
Things may be finally turning around for Briarwood, which earned its first victory of the season against Hueytown last week. Previously, the Lions lost close contests against Chelsea and Jackson-Olin before being shut out by Homewood.
The bad news for Briarwood fans is that the schedule doesn’t get much easier in the latter part of the season. The good news is that veteran Lion coach Fred Yancey is still one of the best in the business. Briarwood might not be a championship contender, but a strong late season run could earn them a playoff spot.
John Carroll Catholic continues to struggle through one of the most difficult schedules in Class 6A. Cavalier fans have a reason to believe that the tough times won’t last forever. The only question is how soon will the turnaround come?
At the halfway point, 2015 seems to be a comparatively “down” year by the high standards traditionally set by Over the Mountain football. But as we’ve seen so many times before, anything can happen – and almost certainly will.
