Patriots look to continue strong start as region play begins

The Homewood High School football team broke a streak last week. Now, it will strive to extend one.

The Patriots shut out Vestavia Hills, 6-0, in Friday’s home opener to beat their neighboring rival for the first time since 2006. The win improved Homewood to 2-0 on the young season and provided the team with a boost of momentum that it will try to carry into this week’s Class 6A, Region 5 opener at Parker.

“That’s awesome,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said after Friday’s win. “We had a great week of practice. I’m so proud of how hard we played for four quarters. I’m really happy for the community of Homewood. It’s been a long time.”

The Patriots relied on a stifling defensive performance to keep Vestavia Hills off the board. Only once did the Rebels offense cross midfield in a contest that saw them gain 161 total yards.

Homewood’s offense also was held in check, but it moved effectively enough to set up two Lane Gilchrist field goals. Gilchrist connected on kicks of 35 and 28 yards to give his team the edge.

Quarterback Larkin Williams, who played well in Homewood's season-opening win over Pelham, turned in another strong performance. He completed 15-of-20 passes for 113 yards and rushed for another 85.

“We just played, just all heart, and we played hard for four quarters,” Berguson said.

This Friday, Homewood faces a Parker team that fell to Huffman last week in its season opener. The Thundering Herd escaped Waldrop Stadium last season with a 28-25 victory thanks to a second-half comeback.

This time, Homewood will aim to avoid a similar outcome and try to add to its growing streak.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Parker’s Major Brown Memorial Stadium.

*Kyle Parmley contributed to this report