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Photo by David Leong
Calera's William Jenkins (9) pressures Homewood's Timothy Roshell (1) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's Jaylon Moore (2) sprints past Homewood's Tate Burdeshaw (17) for a touchdown during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood cheerleaders pose during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's Kristian Gallups-Whatley (1) is pursued by Homewood's Ty Ford (4) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's Kristian Gallups-Whatley (1) is taken down by Homewood's Jakari Haynes (41) and Ty Ford (4) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood marching band entertains the crowd during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood marching band entertains the crowd during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood marching band entertains the crowd during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood head coach Ben Berguson paces the sidelines during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood students cheer during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood's Tate Burdeshaw (17) tackles Calera's AJ Motley (24) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's Ean Williamson (5) catches a pass against Homewood's Ollie Whitten (8) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood's Pate Lee (5) attempts to block a pass by Calera's Kristian Gallups-Whatley (1) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood's Jack Myers (7) calls for the snap during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's Xzavier Boone (7) is tripped up by Homewood's Tate Burdeshaw (17) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood's Timothy Roshell (1) is tackled in the back field during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Homewood's Jozy Hicks (25) kicks the ball during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
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Photo by David Leong
Calera's AJ Motley (24) is tackled by Homewood's Rodregus Lambert (21) during a game between Homewood and Calera on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Waldrop Stadium in Birmingham, AL. Photo by David Leong.
HOMEWOOD -- Homewood High School's football team leaned almost entirely on the arms of its two quarterbacks and the hands of Beckham Newell to escape a track meet with Calera, winning 38-23 on Friday night in Class 5A, Region 4 play.
Newell was at the center of it all, catching seven passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns.
Head coach Ben Berguson said the game didn't go the way he'd hoped to play it, even in a win.
"My goal going in, I did not want to get in a track meet with them," Berguson said. "And we did, really. I wanted to establish the run early, so we wanted to avoid a track meet, but we couldn't run the football. I thought Beckham had another huge night. He won the football game for us. And I was really proud of Bennett Smith. He had two touchdown receptions, and I think that's his first two of the year. So that was huge."
It was a strange one from the start. Homewood had a pick-six called back, and then a pair of botched snap exchanges gave Calera a 2-0 lead on a safety.
Newell's first touchdown catch put Homewood up 7-2, and Smith's first score made it 14-2 before Calera answered with two big plays of its own, a long touchdown to cut it to 14-9 and a short touchdown run that flipped the lead to 16-14. Homewood regained the edge on a field goal to make it 17-16, and after Judah Pettus intercepted a pass to set up a short field, Jack Myers found Smith for an 18-yard touchdown to make it 24-16 at the half.
Homewood pulled away in the second half. A fourth-down pass breakup from Luke Serotsky set up another Newell touchdown catch that made it 31-16. On fourth-and-9 in the fourth quarter, Timothy Roshell found Newell again for a 30-yard score, his third touchdown of the night, to push the lead to 38-16. Calera got a late touchdown pass to cut it to 38-23, but a Jakari Haynes sack sealed the win for Homewood.
Roshell and Myers combined to complete 13 of 23 passes for 275 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions. Homewood managed just 58 rushing yards as a team, a product of Calera controlling the line of scrimmage, according to Berguson.
Homewood improved to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in Region 4, and hosts Chelsea next week. Calera fell to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in region.
Cavs win again
John Carroll earned a third straight win, beating Westminster Christian 48-0 on Thursday night.
The road win gave the Cavs a 4-2 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Private Class AA, Region 2 play. John Carroll travels to Briarwood next week.
