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Homewood Football
Homewood linebacker Antarius Mitchell (28) made the play of the game with a blocked punt in the 4th quarter in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Photo by Abby Vinson
Homewood Football
Homewood's Antarius Mitchell (28) and Elliott Yacu (43) in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) talks to a referee before the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood cheerleaders gather before running out in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood team captains walk to midfield for the coin toss in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's band in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood runs onto the field in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood wide receiver Logan Padgett (13) talks to receivers coach Doug Gann in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Joseph Molstad (62) looks on in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's John Firnberg (36) readies for action in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Players scramble for a loose ball in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood defenders make a tackle in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The Homewood offense heads onto the field in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic was held at Seibert Stadium at Samford University on Thursday, August 18, 2016.
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Homewood Football
Homewood cheerleaders and band members in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha
Homewood Football
Homewood running out in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood quarterback Ty Hatcher (18) in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Jesus Figueroa (54) tackles the Pelham quarterback in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The Homewood band during the halftime show in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's band during the halftime show in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The Homewood halftime show in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Members of the Homewood High School student section cheer on the Patriots' football team during its season-opening matchup against Pelham on Thursday, Aug. 18.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) carries the ball in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha
Homewood Football
Homewood's Antarius Mitchell (28) makes a tackle in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) carries the ball in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
The loose ball following a blocked punt in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Jesus Figueroa (54) goes after the loose ball after a blocked punt in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Jesus Figueroa (54) attempts to recover the loose ball after a blocked punt in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) gets tackled out of bounds in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) takes the handoff in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) battles a defender in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood celebrates in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Chestin Jones (1) carries the football in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Homewood Football
Homewood's Andrew Cleveland (9) and Larkin Williams (10) celebrates in the inaugural Milo's Breakfast Kickoff Classic on Thursday, August 18, at Seibert Stadium at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
During a timeout early in the fourth quarter, Antarius Mitchell had a message for his special teams unit.
“They called a timeout and I came to the sideline and I told everybody if they bring the punter towards me, I can block it,” Mitchell said.
He was spot on, and received a little help. A bad snap caused the Pelham punter to scramble for the loose ball, and once he scooped it up and tried to kick it away, all he connected with was Mitchell’s hand.
The blocked punt set the stage for the Patriots to tie the game and eventually take the lead late in a 21-14 season-opening victory over Pelham, on Thursday night.
The game was labeled the inaugural Milo’s Breakfast Kickoff Classic and was held at Samford University’s Seibert Stadium. An announced crowd of 2,400 dodged a few sprinkles early in what turned into a pleasant late summer evening.
The Panthers came out looking like a team ready to wipe away the memory of a 1-9 campaign in 2015, and Homewood struggled to get its offense on track. A 2-yard touchdown run from Derrick Bush late in the second quarter provided the only scoring of the first half and sent Pelham to the locker room with a 7-0 edge.
Despite the offense not easily gaining any momentum, Chestin Jones was confident.
“I was telling them that we were going to do better in the second half,” he said. “I knew we were the better team.”
Homewood vs. Pelham
Homewood vs. Pelham.
Jones said he is the type of back that gets stronger as the game wears on, and he proved that in a big way. When the dust settled, he rushed for 111 yards on 26 carries, scoring all three of his touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of game action.
He put the Patriots on the board with 13 seconds to play in the third quarter, with a 32-yard dash down the left sideline, despite battling cramps at the time.
Homewood had a short field to work with after the blocked punt in the fourth quarter, and scored easily with a 1-yard dive from Jones. He sealed the game with a 2-yard burst with 1:10 to play to put the Patriots ahead for good.
“He’s going to be the difference in our season. Our season’s going to come down to how well he runs. We’ve just got to keep him healthy,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said.
Nick McCoy’s work did not go unnoticed on that final drive, though, as he rushed for 44 yards to pull Homewood close.
Homewood’s dual-quarterback system of Ty Hatcher and Larkin Williams had difficulties getting in sync. Each QB completed one pass – each one to Andrew Cleveland -- and combined for 36 yards.
Pelham also employed multiple QBs in Eli Hudson, an electric athlete, and Matthew Rye, who threw a touchdown pass to Edward Gipson in the third quarter to give the Panthers a 14-0 edge.
Panther running back Nicholas Blackburn carried the load much of the night, gaining 113 yards on 22 rushes.
Homewood renews a longtime rivalry with a trip to Vestavia Hills next week. Pelham plays host to 2015 Class 5A finalist Mortimer Jordan.
“We needed this confidence, because we’ve got a big time opponent next week in Vestavia. We need a lot of confidence going into that game,” Berguson said.
