Photos by Scott Butler.
HHS Football
TyShawn Bucker reaches the ball over the goal line after catching a pass from Ty Hatcher in the Patriots’ win over Pelham.
Game 1, 8/21
HOMEWOOD 28,
DECATUR 15
Homewood sophomore safety CarDamien Daniels, in his first varsity start, picked off a Decatur pass and returning it for a touchdown to help the Class 6A ninth-ranked Patriots to a season-opening win on Bob Newton Field at Waldrop Stadium.
The non-region game wasn’t as close as the score sounded. The Patriots led 14-0 after Daniels’ pick-six, and 21-6 at half.
Two fumbles and two interceptions give Ben Berguson’s Patriots something to work on before Vestavia Hills visits next Friday.
“I thought we made way too many mistakes tonight,” Berguson said. “Way too many mental mistakes. Four turnovers. But here’s the deal: You always make your biggest strides between Week 1 and Week 2 of the season, and we’re going to do that.”
Patriots quarterback Carson Griffis hooked up with Ronald Claiborne for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Derrick Underwood took a kickoff back 90 yards to set up an 8-yard TD pass from Griffis to Alec Marsch.
Besides the long kick return, Underwood racked up 130 yards rushing on 28 carries and added 35 yards receiving on three catches.
He especially was dominant on the ground in the second half when the Patriots sped up the tempo on their first two possessions. The first drive resulted in another turnover but Underwood cashed the second drive in with a 2-yard run and a 28-6 lead with 4:10 left in the third.
Defensive end Griffin Gentry had at least one sack and a couple of other tackles for losses as he spent the night in the Red Raiders’ backfield.
Griffis finished 14-for-23 passing for 124 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Game 2, 8/28
VESTAVIA HILLS 41,
HOMEWOOD 7
Homewood (1-1) lost its ninth straight in the series between the two old rivals.
“We just got whipped on both sides of the ball,” Patriots coach Ben Berguson said.
It was 21-0 after a quarter and 28-0 at the half.
The Rebels (1-0) scored on their first three possessions. On the second snap from scrimmage, Brett Jones found Nolan Turner open deep for a 63-yard score. Curry Howard’s extra point was good and the Rebels led 7-0 with just 55 seconds elapsed.
“That play kind of took the wind out of our sails,” Berguson said.
Walker Minor rushed for three Vestavia touchdowns and William Schaffeld added two rushing scores.
With the final note of the host Homewood band still hanging in the air, a fierce thunderstorm with lightning all but completed the damper on the home crowd. A mandated lightning delay lasted until 9:40 p.m. and sent many of the fans home.
The Patriots faithful saw a brief glimmer of light when Antarios Mitchell picked up a Rebel fumble and rambled in for a score with 10:20 left in the third quarter. But that was the only score the home team could manage.
Game 3, 9/4
HOMEWOOD 54,
PELHAM 20
Carson Griffis tossed four touchdown passes, Derrick Underwood rushed for over 100 yards in the first half alone and the Homewood defense picked up some opportunistic turnovers as the Patriots pummeled Pelham at Waldrop Stadium.
The Patriots (2-1, 1-0 Class 6A, Region 5) charged out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and were never challenged.
Patriots coach Ben Berguson had been anxious to see how his team would respond to the 41-7 loss to Vestavia Hills.
“We got back to playing Homewood football tonight,” Berguson said. “I thought Carson did a great job leading this football team tonight, throwing four touchdown passes. You know, I just thought it was a great team effort.”
Griffis was 14-of-23 passing for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Underwood rushed 16 times for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns and racked up 187 all-purpose yards.
Alec Marsch hauled in two of Griffis’ TD passes, ending the night with four catches for 117 yards.
Underwood had a dazzling 62-yard burst for a touchdown and added a 6-yard TD run.
Game 4, 9/11
HOMEWOOD 27,
BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN 0
Homewood’s offense spit and sputtered, a bit like the rain in North Shelby County.
But that was of no real consequence, as the Patriots defense shined in a dominance of Briarwood Christian at Lions Pride Stadium.
Antarius Mitchell returned a fumble for a score, Nick Dutton’s interception set up another score and the Patriots didn’t allow the Lions a sniff of the red zone as ninth-ranked Homewood (3-1) improved to 2-0 in Class 6A, Region 5. Briarwood dropped to 0-3, 0-2.
Defensive coordinator Freddy Lawrence was pleased with his charges’ efforts.
“Played hard all night, played their hearts out,” Lawrence said. “All 11 went to the ball, made some big plays, big sacks. Played well as a group.”
The defense also provided great field position.
The first Patriots score came after pinning Briarwood deep in its own territory. Homewood set up shop after the Lions’ punt at the Lions 49. It took eight plays — including some nice runs by newcomer Chestin Smith — to cash it in. After Smith converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard gain out of the wildcat, Derrick Underwood smashed in from 16 yards out. Roger Castro’s point-after made it 7-0 with 31.3 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Patriots held again and drove it back down the field, but this time Underwood was stopped on a fourth-and-1 at the Lions’ 5.
But the defense picked up the offense again seconds later when the ball popped free and Mitchell grabbed it up at the 25 and scooted into the end zone. The PAT failed, and Homewood led 13-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, a promising drive by the Patriots ended in a fumble. But the defense stepped up again.
Lions quarterback William Gray was hit as he threw the ball and Dutton gathered it in.
“I thought I was going to drop it,” Dutton said. “I fumbled it for a few seconds. But overall, we played great tonight, we had great effort, I’m just proud of my teammates.”
The pick by the senior linebacker with 1:12 left in the third quarter led to a drive for the Patriots’ third score. After a pass interference call, quarterback Carson Griffis hooked with Alec Marsch for a 17-yard gain. Griffis kept it off the left side for the final yard. Castro’s kick made it 20-0 with 9:20 left.
The Patriots’ defense stopped the Lions again, and Homewood put the nail in the coffin with a short drive, with Underwood darting 16 yards for his second score of the night.
