Patriots kick off season against Pelham

BIRMINGHAM – For local high school football fans, Christmas comes a day early.

The Homewood High School football team kicks off its 2017 season a day earlier than most for the second consecutive year, as it takes on Pelham on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Samford University’s Seibert Stadium, in the Milo’s Breakfast Kickoff Classic.

“It’s nice to go against somebody different,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said. “We’ve been beating each other up for three weeks.”

Last season’s 21-14 victory over Pelham set the pace for another playoff season for the Patriots, but they sneaked into the postseason with just five wins. The result was somewhat disappointing for a program accustomed to winning nine games each of the previous four seasons.

But this fall, Berguson feels much better about the position his team seems to be in heading into the opener.

“I feel a lot better than I did a year ago,” he said. “I’m really excited about it right now. We’re ready to play, we really are. We’ve actually handled the heat really well this week. We’re just ready to play.”

Larkin Williams begins the season as the Patriots’ full-time quarterback, after splitting time with Ty Hatcher for much of last year. Williams heads into his junior season with high expectations.

Cornerback C.D. Daniels looks to anchor the defense. Both sides of the ball will need to play well, not only to defeat Pelham, but to give Homewood a chance in its second contest, a rivalry game against Vestavia Hills.

“It’s really important, especially for us, because we’ve got Vestavia that next week,” Berguson said. “We just need some momentum going into that game. And it’s always good to start the season off with a win.”

Pelham went just 2-8 last year, but with Tom Causey entering his third year at the helm, Berguson expects the Panthers to take a big leap this fall.

“They will be very well-coached,” Berguson said. “A lot of their guys have been three years in his system now. I think they’ll be very good offensively.”

The initial contract for the game at Samford was for a two-year period, 2016 and 2017, but Berguson said he has already spoken to Causey about the possibility of extending the series.

Homewood’s warmup ahead of the game will also take place in unique fashion, as the Patriots will go through their pregame routine at the high school, before riding across the street to the stadium 15 minutes before kickoff.