By Loyd McIntosh
Vestavia Hills got back into the win column Friday night with a dominant 43-13 win over Oak Mountain at Thompson Reynolds Stadium. The win follows a tough loss to area rival Thompson and gives the Rebels their first 6A Region 3 win of the season at a crucial point in the 2026 schedule.
“This was a big game for playoff implications,” says Vestavia Hills Head Coach Robert Evans, referring to the expanded AHSAA 6A playoff format from 16 teams to 24 teams. “This was an important game for us, and so now it puts us in good position, but we’ve got a dogfight next week with Spain Park. This was a good win for us.”
Senior quarterback Charlie Taaffe returned after missing the Thompson game with an injury and had a stellar outing. Additionally, the Vestavia Hills defense stepped up in a big way, handling a high-flying Eagles offense with one of the top running backs in the state, Kentrell Tolbert.
Evans says the team showed great toughness and resilience after being shut out by Thompson one week ago. “I thought they responded well, but we had our quarterback, too, so that was a big deal for us,” says Evans. “Coach (Jason) Kervin does an outstanding job. They have a much-improved team from last year.
Evans adds, “They’re (Oak Mountain) young in the secondary and, at times, we used their youth against them. Their running back is outstanding, one of the better backs in Alabama; their offensive line is good, and they’re well coached, but I’m really proud of our defense. I thought we did a good job tonight.”
After a cautious start for both teams, Vestavia Hills scored first on a two-yard run by Taaffe, set up by a 47-yard pass from Taaffe to Powell Curry. The two-point conversion was good, giving the Rebels an 8-0 lead with 1:48 to play in the first quarter.
Vestavia Hills dominated the second quarter as the defense continued to shut Oak Mountain down, and Taaffe showed no signs of injury to his throwing arm. On the third play of the quarter, Taaffe connected with Carter Stagner for a thrilling 40-yard touchdown, pushing Vestavia Hills’ lead to 15-0.
Six minutes later, Taaffe found Luke Stubbs open for a 25-yard touchdown, extending Vestavia Hills’ lead to 22-0.
Following an Oak Mountain punt, Vestavia Hills took over with 1:35 on the clock. With no timeouts, Taaffe led the Rebels on a blistering drive, the big play coming on a pass to Curry, who took the ball to the Eagles’ one-yard line for a 61-yard gain. Noah Boylan punched it in for a score, capping an 80-yard, one-minute, nine-second drive. Vestavia Hills held a commanding 29-0 lead at halftime.
Oak Mountain finally got on the board after stopping Vestavia Hills on a fourth-down attempt, giving the Eagles excellent field position at the Rebels’ 31-yard line. Six plays later, Tolbert broke through the defensive line for a 13-yard score, trimming Vestavia Hills’ lead to 29-7.
The Rebels wasted no time responding, scoring less than a minute later when Taaffe found Price LaMaster wide open by a country mile for another 40-yard touchdown. Oak Mountain found the end zone once more as Tolbert scored from three yards out with 1:50 to play in the third. The extra point was no good
Vestavia Hills held a comfortable 36-13 at the end of the third quarter.
Stagner added a grinding one-yard touchdown as the offensive line pushed him over the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. Final score: Vestavia Hills 43, Oak Mountain 13.
Taaffe was spectacular, completing 14 of 18 attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a ridiculous 23.1 yards per completion. He was also the Rebels’ leading rusher with 82 yards on 15 attempts and one touchdown. More importantly, he’s healthy. “I feel great. Obviously, it was my arm last week, but I was just able to overcome it this week,” says Taaffe, adding that the offensive line and the receiver corps made the passing game click like a well-oiled machine.
“The wide receivers were open. Every concept we ran, my first read most of the time was open; if not, the second read was open,” Taaffe says. “It was just great seeing that unfold. This was obviously a big game, a region game, and just to come out here after a tough loss and keep our heads up and have a great game tonight was awesome.”
Vestavia Hills racked up 465 yards of total offense, 324 yards passing and 141 yards rushing. Other statistical leaders aside from Taaffe include Curry with two receptions for 108 yards, Stubbs with five catches for 71 yards and one touchdown, and LaMaster with two catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Boylan contributed with seven carries for 32 yards and a touchdown, followed by Stagner with six carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. The Rebels’ defense held Oak Mountain to 266 yards, 180 yards rushing and 86 yards passing.
With the win, Vestavia Hills improved to 3-1 overall, 1-1 in region play. The Rebels will host region foe Spain Park on Friday, September 18.
