The Vestavia Hills Rebels will venture away from home to challenge the Oak Mountain Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Vestavia Hills is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 40.5 points per game this season.
Last Friday, Vestavia Hills took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 49-14 victory over Prattville. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-0.
Charlie Taaffe was his usual excellent self, throwing for 188 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 11-for-11 passing, while also rushing 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.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 49 points the game before, Oak Mountain was a bit more limited in their contest on Friday. They received a blow as they fell 28-10 to Hoover. 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).
Will O'Dell put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 153 yards, and also threw for 130 yards on 14 of 32 attempts.
Oak Mountain didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Jayden Aparicio-Bailey.
Vestavia Hills' win bumped their record up to 2-4. As for Oak Mountain, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Vestavia Hills has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 207.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Oak Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 233.3. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Vestavia Hills against Oak Mountain in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 50-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Vestavia Hills since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
