#7 Mtn. Brook takes down #8 Vestavia in top 10 showdown

Mountain Brook, AL – The seventh ranked Mountain Brook Spartans (5-0, 3-0), defeated the eighth ranked Vestavia Hills Rebels (3-1, 2-1) Friday night at Spartan Stadium.  

The win keeps gives Mountain Brook the distinction of being the only undefeated team in 7A region 3 through the first half of the regular season and marks the first time since 2012 that the Spartans have started 5-0.  

The Rebels lit up the Spartan Stadium scoreboard on their first possession of the the contest as Cooper Bishop took an Eli Sawyer handoff to the house from 74 yards out.  

Mountain Brook evened the score on their next possession as Daniel Willbanks capped a 68 yard drive with a bolt into the endzone from just outside the Rebel one yard line.  

A.J. Gates extended the Mountain Brook lead to 14-7 on the Spartans next drive, rushing in from just beyond the 10.  Willbanks added his second score of the first half midway through the second quarter scampering in from the two yard line.  

The home team held a 21-7 halftime advantage over their Over the Mountain rivals.  

After the break, Bishop pulled the Rebels back within a score bolting across the goal line from the Spartan 21 yard line.  

Mountain Brook signal caller Strother Gibbs called his own number, scampering in from 26 yards out, with eight minutes remaining in the game to cap the scoring at 28-14.  

The Spartans finished the contest with 376 total yards while holding the Rebels to 261 and only seven first downs.   In a game dominated by the ground game, Mountain Brook pilled up 279 yards rushing on 54 attempts while holding the Rebels to 158 yards on the ground on 21 attempts.

Spartans quarterback Strother Gibbs finished the game with 97 yards through the air, connecting on 15 of 18 passes.  He added 16 rushes for 89 yards and a score on the ground.  Senior running back A.J. Gates added 55 yards rushing on 14 carries while adding 16 yards receiving on 6 receptions.  

Vestavia’s Eli Sawyer completed 6 of 14 passes for 103 yards while Cooper Bishop carried the ball 19 times form 156 yards including touchdown runs of 74 and 21 yards.  

The Rebels hold a 29-24 advantage all-time over the Spartans in a series that dates back to 1971.  

Mountain Brook hits the field October 4th, after a bye in week 5, on the road at Oak Mountain‘s (1-3, 0-3) Herdmont Park Stadium.  Vestavia steps out of region play next week to take on the Shades Valley Mounties (2-2, 1-1) at Frank Nix Stadium.