Complete effort for Patriots in solid win over Paul Bryant
Momentum can only take the Homewood High football team so far, especially with one of the top Class 6A teams awaiting in the first round of the Alabama state playoffs.
But that doesn’t mean that the Patriots won’t carry a positive vibe into the playoffs following a 41-14 regular season-closing victory over visiting Paul Bryant on Friday night.
“It’s huge going into the playoffs with this win,” said Homewood head coach Ben Berguson, whose team opens the 6A playoffs against high-powered Minor. “Hopefully, we’re peaking right now, at the right time.”
Only time will tell if Homewood can find a way to outscore a Minor team that was unbeaten until closing the regular season with a 52-42 loss to Spain Park. But there is little doubt that the Patriots looked like a team playing its best on Friday, especially considering they got key contributions from all three phases of the game.
The offense got balanced production with the run and the pass, gaining 360 yards overall. The defense set up the first score, with an Antarius Mitchell interception, and dominated the Stampede after halftime. The Patriots’ special teams provided the game’s most dramatic moment with a blocked field goal on the final play of the first half that Mitchell returned 90 yards for a touchdown.
“It was huge,” Berguson said of the all-around contribution as his team improved to 5-5 overall. “We’ve struggled this year at different times offensively. We’ve kind of ridden on our defense. I was really proud of our offense tonight. We really exploded.”
Mitchell’s interception on the third play of the game made it easy for the offense to open the scoring. Mitchell gave the Patriots the ball on the 20-yard line and quarterback Larkin Williams connected with Bailey Lapinsky for the score.
The Stampede (4-6 overall) tied the game on a 64-yard scoring run by Gary Quarles late in the first quarter before the teams traded touchdowns. Homewood’s came on a 20-yard pass from Ty Hatcher to David Robertson. Paul Bryant countered with a 3-yard scoring run by Quarles.
It appeared that Paul Bryant was going to take momentum into the halftime locker room as the Stampede set up for a 22-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. Magid Alawi Baalawi, who was on the field because regular kicker Seth Williams, also the team’s top wide receiver, was hurt on the drive. Alawi Baalawi attempted the short kick but C.D. Daniels raced in to block the attempt. Mitchell scooped up the loose ball and outran the Stampede defenders into the end zone to give Homewood a 21-14 halftime lead.
“They were right there, knocking on the door to score,” Berguson said. “I challenged our guys to keep the momentum after halftime. I knew we had that ball on the first possession. We got up by two scores and we never looked back.”
The Patriots were up by two scores because they took the second half kickoff and marched 66 yards on 10 plays. Running back Chestin Jones did a lot of the work, gaining 33 yards on the drive, and Larkin Williams capped the drive with a 6-yard scoring pass to Fred Williams. The extra point failed but Homewood still led 27-14.
Homewood completed dominated the rest of the way, largely because they could move the ball through the air and on the ground. Hatcher finished the game 8-of-15 for 119 yards with a touchdown while Williams was 6-of-9 for 81 yards with a pair of scoring passes. Jones rushed the ball 17 times for 81 yards, David Robertson had 60 yards on five carries and Nick McCoy carried the ball eight times for 30 yards.
Fred Williams had two catches, both for touchdowns, and Williams ran in from a yard out for the final score. Wide receiver TyShawn Buckner was huge after halftime, making all four of his catches for 67 yards. Berguson also tipped his cap to the guys up front.
“I’m really proud of our o-line tonight,” Berguson said.
The Patriots allowed just 43 second half yards to send the seniors out with a regular season home win.
“I’m really happy for our seniors, 5-5 sounds a lot better than 4-6,” Berguson said.