Nasty and Gritty: MBHS Football 2016 Football season is right around the corner and Mountain Brook is starving for success. Known to many, the Spartans have finished the past two seasons 3 7. And that is what drives this year s team to be the best they can be. They cannot wait to get out there. I m just glad football season is back Spartan Head Coach, Chris Yeager, told the folks at Media Days 2016 back in late July. The team had a great turnout at all of the summer practices and played a tremendous spring game. His goals for 2016 are for his team to continue being nasty and gritty. He kept emphasizing how much grit this team has. With 40+ Seniors, there is plenty of leadership to go around and not to mention the experience. Experience is key in our region Yeager went on to say. 7A Area 3 is certainly no cakewalk and it doesn't matter who you are. Teams like Hoover, Spain Park, Vestavia, and Oak Mountain (just to name a few) are after you every week in the chase for the playoffs. If you do not have experience, you cannot succeed in this region. Mountain Brook had to play lots of 15 and 16 year olds last season due to progressive injuries throughout the season. That is something you simply cannot do in such a competitive region Yeager said about having to play so many sophomores
and underclassmen last year. It was a result of nearly a quarter of the team being injured by Week 10. Needless to say, injuries are inevitable in football. But enough of last year. Let s get to this year and preview the offense, defense, special teams and schedule. OFFENSE This year s offense has the most potential it has had in nearly three or four years. Leading the charge will be Junior Quarterback and returning starter, Hamp Sisson. Hamp has been to many camps this summer and gotten stronger and quicker. What sets Hamp apart is his dual threat ability. He field vision helps him see the defense and his guys. He can wait until last second and if there s not a man open, he takes off and runs like a deer. He ran track and improved his sprinting ability and has put it on for show so far this summer. Hamp has five games starting experience which will be key when he is under center the Spartan offense this fall. The wide receivers corps could certainly be the best it has ever been. Led by Sims Herron, expect quick screens and exciting long balls from the group. Herron is gaining interest from small Division 1 schools. Coach Yeager likes to call Herron the most underrated player in the state. Others lining up with Herron include Sean Elmore, Wilson Higgins and Aubrey Hart. JP Darnall made the switch to tight end so you will likely see JP running more routes and Clay Stearns as the other tight end handle more of the pass protection. In terms of receivers, expect a big year from Sean Elmore. The junior only played the first half of last year s opener vs Huntsville then suffered a season ending leg injury in the 3rd quarter. Wilson Higgins will also step up as a junior. He got in a few times last year as a sophomore but now will contribute even more as a talented and physical receiver. The speed of Aubrey Hart will be huge in making big plays downfield as well.
A big part of the offense that flies under the radar is the offensive line. Price Delk will be a three year starter and told us at Media Days that their chemistry of working together is coming along well after losing guys like Rix Curtis and Lawton Sparks. Christian Johnston, Johnny Leara, Will Carothers, John Pelham and guys that will step up with Delk and dominate the line of scrimmage. This is one of the biggest offensive lines that Delk can remember and he says they have will be great as long as they can be consistent and work together. All the hype is surrounding the running back, Harold Joiner. The 6 3 215lb junior is built like a college back but just doesn t quite have the numbers yet. Hamstring and back injuries led Joiner to have limited carries last year and play in a limited amount of games. Harold is optimistic about this season. He s been staying healthy and putting in lots of work. He attended Alabama (along with Herron) and Auburn (along with Elmore) camps over the summer and spoke with both Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn. Both are interested and Harold picked up a few Twitter followers from each school as well. Safe to say, the two in state powerhouses will keep a close eye on the elite prospect. Harold holds only one offer and that is from Jacksonville State. Don t be alarmed if he puts up some numbers the first couple of games and SEC schools seek him out. His speed and power combine to craft a unique athlete and Harold will show us what he is all about come week one. Along with Harold, seniors Sam Everette and McKee Brown will rotate taking a few carries. Sam suffered a foot injury mid season last year and looks to use his powerful frame to make some explosive plays this year. McKee was man in the backfield that latter half of the season due to many injuries. At just 5 7, McKee is a warrior. Coach Yeager said you would have to break all of his limbs to get him off the field. He s a scrapper. The Spartans offense will be explosive and they are quite well rounded. Every way you look at it, they are well equipped and it will be great to see how Coach Yeager and his staff use their weapons this season.
DEFENSE Leadership. Experience. Trust. These words should come to mind when one thinks of this year s Spartan defense. We could see as many as 11 seniors starting on defense. Will that happen? Not likely because there are plenty of talented juniors in the mix but eight or nine, maybe even ten seniors are expected to be in the starting lineup this season. Guys like Will Wetzler and Zachary Carroll, who have played on Varsity since Freshman year, will be the leaders and playmakers for this defense. Coach Yeager also mentioned at Media Days that he can trust his defense. With all the experienced seniors, he expects them to do what they have been taught to do from day one. Do the little things right. Be a perfectionist on the things you can control. Work hard. Be a good teammate and everything else will fall in line. There is a big list for who to watch on defense and guys that can step up. On the defensive line, you have Butler Wilbanks and Sam Colvin. Both seniors, Butler is powerful through the middle and Colvin will use his speed to get through any gap. Expect to see juniors, Ian Rielly and Joe Bird in the mix as well. The linebackers are deep as usual and very strong. Conner Bussman, Mabry Crane, Tanner Dean, Henry Barze and Will Wetzler are expected to step up and be the go to guys. These five have played alongside each other for five years now and are ready to prove they have what it takes and lead this defense. Wetzler is gaining lots of attention from small Division 1 schools and attended multiple camps over the summer. His interest and offers from other schools should increase if he is able to surpass the numbers he was able to put up last year. The senior trend continues with defensive backs and safeties. Chandler Cox, Reid Hogue and Joey Keating will lock down at the defensive back position. Interesting note
that all three of these guys are baseball players, so they work together year round as athletes on the field and on the diamond. Chandler Cox went down with a knee injury at Tuscaloosa County last year in week 6. He was sidelined for the rest of that season and through baseball season. Come kickoff time, no one will be more anxious to put on that Spartan uniform and hit somebody, than Chandler. Strong safety, Zachary Carroll, will command the entire defense and hawk the No Fly Zone. He capitalized on a Hoover fumble last year in Spartan Stadium, scooping and scoring and that is the type of thing Coach Yeager is preaching this year for this defense. Be patient and do everything right. Where the Spartans find a weakness in their opponent, they will punish them and benefit from it. It s what they do so well. SPECIAL TEAMS One of the highlights of last year s team was the last second field goal versus Tuscaloosa County on the road. Kicker (then junior), Mason Dillard, knocked down a 28 yard FG as part of an epic comeback. One of the things I m excited about most, is having our kicker and long snapper comeback. Their chemistry is great and it s tough when that has to change nearly every year in high school football so I m glad they are both back. This was what Coach Yeager said about his special teams this year at Media Days. He was referring to Mason and long snapper, Alex Pankey. Both will be seniors and work alongside each other every day in practice improving their craft. Mason has Varsity experience dating back to freshman year when he had a kickoff in the playoffs vs Florence. For the past two seasons he has swapped in and out with Harrison Ritchie and Kemper Sanders. But this year he is the guy. He holds a preferred walk on offer from Jacksonville State and looks to gain the attention of many colleges his senior season.
SCHEDULE This year s schedule is in many ways the same to years past with some minor differences. First off, the bye week. This year Coach Yeager elected to start on what is called Week Zero. Coaches can choose to begin August 19th and take a bye week or kickoff their season August 26th and play for 10 weeks straight before the playoffs begin. Last year Mountain Brook did not have a bye week and many guys got injured through the season and there was no break. The injuries from last year is one of the main reasons Coach Yeager chose to have a bye week this year. The schedule contains 10 regular season games, seven region games and three non region games. Five road games and five at home. To make the playoffs, you need to win as many region games as possible and the non region games have no playoff implication. So here we go: Week 1: At Gulf Shores. Non region game. August 19th. The Spartans and the Dolphins have never met and it will be interesting to see their first matchup in the Gulf Shores heat in mid August. Gulf Shores went 1 9 last season so both teams are looking to get their season started on the right path. With no playoff implication, Mountain Brook is just looking to set the tone for the season and looking to start with a win, something they were barely able to to last year versus Huntsville. Week 2: Home vs Helena. Non region game. August 26th. Like Gulf Shores, Helena and Mountain Brook have never faced but Helena opened its doors in 2014. They made the playoffs their first year and went 9 3 last
year. Helena elected to not start on week zero so Mountain Brook will be their first game of the season. The home opener for the Spartans is a non region game so it gives them more time to settle in, correct mistakes from week one and prepare for area play. Helena is a tough team and will throw everything at Mountain Brook in their season opener. Look to see if RB, Harold Joiner can make some noise against a tough defense. Week 3: At Hoover. Region Game. September 2nd. Do I really need to say anything? It s Mountain Brook vs Hoover. One of the most anticipated games of the year for the Spartans, most certainly for the Spartan fans. This one at The Met will be a battle. Hoover is looking great this year (as always). With Division 1 bound guys on both sides of the ball for the Bucs, it will be a great region opener for the Spartans in facing such a talented team. Last year in Spartan Stadium, Mountain Brook owned the first half then Hoover quickly came out the second half and gained control. Hoover does travel to Dallas, Texas the week before. Will they be ready for region play when they return home to face the Spartans? How will Hamp s dual threat ability do against the Bucs? Week 4: Home vs Thompson. Region Game. September 9th Another region game for the Spartans, this one will be the first at home. Last year s loss to Thompson really hurt the team. The game was a battle but Walker Lott proved to be too much for the Spartan defense. With Lott, now at Yale, Mountain Brook looks to own both sides of the ball as Thompson has had rebuilding to do this offseason. Week 5: At Spain Park. Region Game. September 16th. The Jags finished their season last year as runner ups, falling to McGill Toolen in the state championship. They graduated lots of key guys and will be interesting to see how they rebuild. The Spartans were the first team to score on the Jags last year on their first drive when McKee Brown charged in for the touchdown. This year is a road game and will be the second year in a row Mountain Brook plays at Spain Park. The schedule changes due to AHSAA reclassification every two years. It will be interesting to see who has stepped up for the Spartans on the offensive side of the ball, especially at wide receiver. Also, will everyone be healthy week 5?
BYE WEEK Week 6: Home vs Tuscaloosa County. Region game. September 30th. After a thrilling win last year, Mountain Brook expects a good game from Tuscaloosa County. County has struggled at Spartan Stadium in past years and finished last in the region last year. Not much has changed for them. If the Spartans are playing well and healthy(after a bye week), this could be a nice region win at home. Week 7: At Vestavia Hills. Region game. October 7th Smash. Mouth Football. Year in and year out Mountain Brook vs Vestavia is good old fashioned football. 2 years ago when playing on the road vs the Rebels, the Spartans pulled away with a 12 10 win and special teams was key. Vestavia lost some key guys from last year but it doesn t matter who you have. Vestavia is a rivalry game and should be a good one, as always with playoff implications. Week 8: At Oak Mountain. Region Game. October 14th. The last road game of the season for the Spartans. They will need this win. A loss to Oak Mountain at home last year by a touchdown did not go over well. The game came down to a few plays here and there and could have had a different result. In the second to last region game of the year, playoff implications will be very tight week eight and Mountain Brook will need a win vs the Eagles. Week 9: Home vs Huffman. Region Game. October 21st. Homecoming. This game should be a win for the Spartans but you never know. Huffman has lots of athletes but the Spartans are expected to finish off the Homecoming week with a win and finish region play with a win. Playoffs will be determined after this game and in Region 3, it will be close. It will be a battle all season. Week 10: Home vs Ramsay. Non region game. October 27th. This is a Thursday game with no playoff implications but it s always nice to finish the regular season with a win. In the case that Mountain Brook makes the playoffs, playing Thursday allows the team and coaches to see the probable team play the
ensuing day. Mountain Brook will either be expecting a playoff opponent or finishing their season early. Only time will tell. William Galloway Follow on Twitter and Facebook Follow MBSW Spartan Report on Instagram @spartanreport