The Reset: Fall sports in full swing

Over the course of the year, The Homewood Star will keep you up to date on the various Homewood High School athletic teams. With football season three weeks old, volleyball season two weeks old and cross-country getting underway recently, the fall sports season is in full swing.

FOOTBALL

The Homewood football team is off to a great start, as the Patriots improved to 3-0 on the young season with a 20-14 win over Parker on Friday night. Homewood jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead but Parker made it interesting in the second half.

Click here for a full recap of the game.

VOLLEYBALL

The Patriot volleyball team is off to a 7-5 start under first-year head coach Krimson White. Homewood opened the season at Briarwood’s Serve-Off Tournament on Sept. 2, and emerged with a solid showing. The Patriots went 2-1 in pool play, beating Benjamin Russell and Guntersville and losing to Lawrence County.

In bracket play, Homewood took down McAdory before falling to Ramsay in the finals of the silver bracket.

Homewood dropped both portions of a tri-match between Montgomery Academy and Thompson last Wednesday, but rebounded with a strong day at the First Metro Tournament in Muscle Shoals on Saturday.

The Patriots won their first four matches of the day on Saturday, against Curry, Northside, Wilson and Rogers, but fell to Saint James in the quarterfinals.

The weather forced Homewood to alter its schedule some this week. The Patriots will now host Spain Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Homewood's Will Stone won his first race of the 2017 cross-country season on Saturday at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational in Oakville. The Patriot junior dueled with Vestavia Hills’ James Sweeney for most of the 5K race before pulling away around the final quarter-mile loop. Stone clocked a personal-best time 15 minutes, 36 seconds. Sweeney finished second in 15:40.

“I thought James was definitely going to be the one to beat, so I just tried to stay in front of him the whole race,” Stone said. “Then [I was] hoping, just as I came around this loop right here, that I had a better kick than him. Fortunately, it worked today.”

Stone’s polished showing propelled the Homewood boys to a ninth-place team finish in the large school division.

The Homewood girls, on the other hand, placed seventh in the team standings behind Celie Jackson’s sixth-place finish. Jackson, a sophomore, emerged as the top local competitor in the large school girls race. She clocked a personal-best 19:13.

“My coach said be patient the first mile, so that’s what I did,” Jackson said. “It went really well, so I was excited.”

The Homewood cross-country teams return to action Saturday at the Spain Park Invitational.

NOTABLE ALUMNI

Ameer Abdullah, a running back for the Detroit Lions, had 30 yards on 15 carries in the Lions’ 35-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Former Patriot volleyball player Deja Hester-Taylor was back in Birmingham recently with Maryville College. A sophomore there, Hester-Taylor has contributed 19 kills and 18 digs in seven matches.

-- Who did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.