Patriots fighting for playoff lives against Shades Valley

It is safe to say that last week’s contest against Ramsay High School did not go according to plan for Homewood. Head coach Ben Berguson summed it up simply following the game.

“They just out-athleted us,” Berguson said after Ramsay (6-1 overall, 5-0 Class 6A, Region 5) clinched the region title and remained unbeaten against Alabama competition. “I thought we played hard all four quarters. They’ve got a great football team.”

Homewood (3-4, 2-2) had just 50 yards in offense at halftime, on the wrong end of a 28-0 score. It didn’t get much better in the third quarter, even though the Patriot defense made a big play on the opening possession of the second half when Kris Wilkins intercepted a pass in the end zone.

One thing the Patriots didn’t do at that point – or any other time in the game – was quit. The Patriots kept playing hard throughout and were able to score twice in the final 13 minutes. Sophomore quarterback Larkin Williams directed both scoring drives with the first one covering 75 yards on 10 plays. Williams was 3-of-4 for 64 yards on the drive, including a 34-yard connection with Bailey Lapinsky. Williams scored the touchdown on a 7-yard run with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We’ve got to go back and work,” said Berguson. “We’ve made the playoffs four straight years. We’ve got to win next week, for sure, to have a chance to get in. We’re scrambling a little bit.”

Region 5 is a bit of mess below Ramsay. Hueytown – Homewood’s opponent next week – is 3-1 in the region, while Jackson-Olin joins Homewood with a 2-2 mark in the region. Parker is still very much in the mix, at 2-3, while Shades Valley can still make some noise at 1-3.

As Berguson mentioned, the Patriots have qualified for the postseason each of the past four seasons. The playoff situation is murky at the moment, but a loss tonight would be extremely detrimental to the Patriots’ hopes. But if Homewood can take care of business in the next two weeks, it could still lock up the No. 2 seed in the region and a first round home game.

Despite the disappointing loss, the Patriots have a chance to rebound Friday, as they face Shades Valley at 7 p.m. at Waldrop Stadium.

Shades Valley is coming off a close, 24-21, loss to Jackson-Olin last week. The Mounties are 3-4 overall, but do not have what could be considered a bad loss. Ramsay and Hueytown are top teams in the region and Pinson Valley is having a strong season.

Homewood and Shades Valley played each year from 1972 through 1983, and sporadically since. Shades Valley holds a 14-7 edge in the all-time series.

The Patriots conclude region play at Hueytown next week.

- Steve Irvine contributed to this story.