The Oak Mountain Eagles will square off against the Vestavia Hills Rebels at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Oak Mountain is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 28.3 points per game this season.
Oak Mountain is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 49 points back in September, they were much more limited against Hoover on Friday. The matchup between them and the Buccaneers wasn't particularly close, with Oak Mountain falling 28-10. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Buccaneers are ranked eighth).
The losing side was boosted by Will O'Dell, who rushed for 153 yards, and also threw for 130 yards on 14 of 32 attempts.
Meanwhile, Vestavia Hills took their game on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-14 victory over Prattville. With the Rebels ahead 35-0 at the half, the match was all but over already.
It was another big night for Charlie Taaffe, who threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 11-for-11 passing, and also rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown. Smith King was Taaffe's top target, rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Vestavia Hills was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 308 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Oak Mountain has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. As for Vestavia Hills, their win bumped their record up to 2-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Oak Mountain has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 233.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Vestavia Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 207.2. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Oak Mountain was dealt a bruising 50-0 loss at the hands of Vestavia Hills in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Oak Mountain, John Paul Head (who rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 152 yards and a touchdown while completing 72.2% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
