Patriots battle Paul Bryant as playoffs approach
The Homewood High School team is searching for some momentum as it prepares for the state playoffs beginning next week.
The lone remaining stop before the postseason is a home tilt with Paul Bryant (4-5, 3-3 Class 6A, Region 4), Friday at 7 p.m. at Waldrop Stadium.
Both Homewood (4-5, 3-3 Class 6A, Region 5) and Paul Bryant have identical won-loss records, but the Stampede is probably feeling better about it than the Patriots are.
Paul Bryant has secured the No. 4 seed out of Region 5, it’s first playoff berth since 2011 and first in head coach Eldrick Hill’s three-year tenure. Meanwhile, Homewood also finished with the No. 4 seed in its region, but had an opportunity to claim the No. 2 seed with a potential win at Hueytown last week. The distinction is critical, for multiple reasons.
For starters, every team desires to host a playoff game. It not only increases the odds that a team will draw a favorable matchup, but it also means that the home team gets to continue in its normal routine, without having to worry about foreign surroundings on Friday night.
Those odds are now stacked against Homewood with the No. 4 seed, because it means the Patriots will have to travel to Region 6 champ Minor in the first round. The Tenacious Tigers are just that under third-year coach George Bates.
Sitting at 9-0 entering this week, Minor’s smallest margin of victory came last week, in an 18-point win over Walker, 60-42. That doesn’t tell the whole story. Walker led 42-12 just minutes before halftime, before Minor scored the final 48 points of the game.
It’s safe to say the Patriots will not be intimidated by the matchup, as they went toe-to-toe with Clay-Chalkville in the postseason last fall. At the time, the Cougars were the defending state champions and went on to the state championship game once again.
Last week, Ty Hatcher connected with Bailey Lapinsky twice on the opening drive for 27 yards and a 52-yard touchdown to put Homewood on the board, 7-0.
The Patriots secondary stepped up on the ensuing drive, as C.D. Daniels picked off a pass in Hueytown territory, but Golden Gopher senior Justin Percy scooped and scored a Larkin Williams fumble for a 75-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Lane Gilchrist later gave the Patriots a small cushion, 10-6, with a 27-yard field goal after a drive stalled at the Hueytown 10 with 9:02 to play in the first half.
Hueytown’s offense produced when it mattered most, as quarterback Jalen Steele capped a 7-play drive with a 1-yard QB sneak to give the Golden Gophers a 15-10 lead with 6:56 to play, the eventual game-winning score.
“I’m disappointed about tonight. I’m pleased that we’re going to go to the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, but that was a tough loss tonight,” Patriots’ head coach Ben Berguson said following the game.
- Chris Megginson contributed to this story.