GIBBS, DEFENSE POWER SPARTANS PAST VESTAVIA

Chris Yeager has heard the criticism lobbed at his starting quarterback. Detractors claim that junior Strother Gibbs isn't big enough, isn't fast enough and doesn't have the best arm. "But dad-gummit he's a winner," Yeager said. And on Friday night against his school's archrival, Gibbs won his team the game. He rushed 27 times for 78 yards, six of them on the go-ahead touchdown, in Mountain Brook High School's 14-7 win at Vestavia Hills. "I feel great," Gibbs said afterward. "I'd do anything to win this game." He did. Gibbs absorbed blow after blow on his physical runs, and Yeager said that he fought through full body cramps. Not once did he miss a snap. "What he's got you can't measure in stats," Yeager said. More than half of Gibbs' rushing total came on the opening drive of the second half, when he marched his team 66 yards down the field. He took off for 26 yards on the first play of the third quarter, then 12 on the next. But his biggest run, apart from his bruising 6-yard score, came on fourth-and-1 inside the red zone. He muscled ahead for four yards, slithering through an opening created by the offensive line. "I just saw a hole and I just ran as hard as I could," said Gibbs, who also completed 6-of-8 passes for 74 yards. "I ran my feet, just got what I could get." The touchdown provided one of the only offensive highlights of the second half. Mountain Brook (5-0, 3-0 in Class 7A, Region 3) punted on its next three drives. "That is a very good football team," Yeager said of the Rebels. Mountain Brook's coach has one too. Vestavia Hills' four second-half possessions culminated in three punts and an interception that Spartans defensive back Logan Brewer hauled in with under two minutes remaining in regulation. It sealed the game. "Our defense played extremely well," Brewer said, "but we've still got to get better going into next week." Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills were tied 7-7 at halftime. The Rebels scored on their opening possession, which lasted 14 plays and chewed up more than seven minutes. Quarterback Eli Sawyer, who completed 11-of-18 passes for 131 yards, capped his team's 69-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown toss to Wells Watts. "We played well on the first drive," Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said. "We shot ourselves in the foot after that." Mountain Brook answered in the second quarter with a 9-yard touchdown run from Sam Higgins. He finished with 71 yards on 15 carries. The Spartans defense, meanwhile, buckled down after surrendering the first points. Yeager credited his coaching staff, specifically defensive coordinator Robert Evans, for having the team ready to compete. Vestavia Hills had been averaging more than 45 points per game. "In my 20 years at Mountain Brook, our kids probably played as close to their maximum ability as any group I've ever seen tonight," Yeager said. Mountain Brook will be off next week before hosting Oak Mountain on Oct. 4. Vestavia Hills (3-1, 2-1 in region) will host Shades Valley next Friday.

GIBBS, DEFENSE POWER SPARTANS PAST VESTAVIA

Photo Credit: Sarah Finnegan