By Jamey Curlee, For the Tribune
MOUNTAIN BROOK — On a perfect night for football in Mountain Brook, Al, the Mountain Brook Spartans played a perfect football game.
Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager and Pinson Valley head coach Lee Guess shake hands after a game between the Pinson Valley Indians and the Mountain Brook Spartans at Spartan Stadium in Mountain Brook, AL on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. (Photo by Richard Force)
All cylinders were firing in perfect unison for the Spartans, while, on the other hand, nothing seemed to go right for Pinson Valley, as the Indians lost in the first round of the AHSAA playoffs, 49-7.
Pinson Valley came into the first round action as the No. 3 seed with a record of 6-3 (one loss by way of forfeit), and 4-2 in 6A Region 6 action. Mountain Brook sported an 8-2 overall record, 5-1 in Region 5 play, but was, perhaps, a more seasoned squad with three of their wins coming against 7A opponents.
The first quarter was a blur of Spartan success as Mountain Brook jumped out to a commanding 21-0 lead. Mountain Brook’s offensive line was the dominating force that set the tone for the game. Alexander, Courtenay, Peterson, Smith, Boehme, and Kelly controlled the powerful Indian defense with skill and strength.
Quarterback John Colvin had over 125 yards passing with a TD to Clark Sanderson, but the man of the night was Junior RB Cole Sanderson with close to 220 yards rushing and six touchdowns in just over two quarters alone.
The Mountain Brook defense, led by seniors Parker Avery and Trent Wright, could not have played much better. Multiple sacks and tackles for a loss kept the high-powered Indian offense in check all night.
Valley had just over 100 yards total offense for the night, finally getting on the scoreboard late on a touchdown pass by Kewone Posey that took away the Mountain Brook shutout making the Final score Mountain Brook 49, Pinson Valley 7
Mountain Brook 24-year veteran head coach Chris Yeager said he felt his Spartans squad matched up well against Pinson Valley and stressed playing fundamental football leading up to the first-round playoff game.
“We worked all week on trying to master the fundamentals,” Yeager said. “Nothing new or special, just keep doing what we do well.”
Tonight that worked to the advantage of Mountain Brook. The Spartans improved to 9-3 and will travel to Gadsden City next week to take on the Titans in the second round of the state playoffs.
Pinson Valley ends the season with an overall record of 6-4, ending an up-and-down year for first-year head coach Lee Guess. In his first head coaching job, The Hewitt-Trussville and Auburn graduate took over a program that finished the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 9-4 and advanced to the third round of the playoffs before losing to Mountain Brook 30-0.
