CULLMAN — It was a heavy rushing attack that pushed Vinemont High to its first win of the season. With more than 400 rushing yards, the Eagles took the 26-7 victory over Brindlee Mountain at home Friday night.

While it’s good to have a solid running game, Vinemont coach Alan Scott said the team needs to fine-tune its passing. The Eagles only completed one pass that went for 20 yards for the whole game.

“We’ve just got to get our timing between quarterbacks and receivers,” Scott said. “And we have to work on protection from our offensive line to get our quarterback more confidence to be able to throw the football.”

The successful rushing was a combination of the offensive line stepping up and the running backs pushing through, according to Scott.

“The line’s done a great job creating the opportunities for the running backs, and the running backs have to take that and they have been,” he said. “They’ve done a great job both in the jamboree game and now Week 1.”

The defensive performance was also solid for the Eagles. Duncan Hopper got a pick and ran it for an extra 10 yards, and then the defense had a goal-line stand to keep Brindlee Mountain at bay.

It didn’t hurt, either, that Brindlee Mountain missed two field goals during the game.

“The defense was really solid,” Scott said. “Bend but don’t break. They allowed 131 rushing yards. It was a pretty good performance. They were a big physical team that tried to run the ball right at you, and we held our own.”

After Game 1, there were no new injuries for Vinemont.

Vinemont travels to Danville for its second game next Friday night, starting at 7 p.m.



West Point 43, Brewer 22

In West Point’s tough Class 5A schedule, its opening game against Brewer helped the team get some of the kinks out before the grind really begins.

In the 43-22 victory, the Warriors racked up offensive yards, with more than 400 in the first half alone. What impressed coach A.J. Lamar the most were the running backs.

“I thought all our running backs, the main thing is they blocked well for one another, and they didn’t care who got the credit and that’s what you want to see, unselfish players as long as you get to win,” he said.

Special teams, usually one of West Point’s strongest aspects of the game, still performed at a high level on Friday. Wesley Waters blocked a punt on one of its first plays of the game. Special teams also went 2-for-2 on two-point conversions.

“On special teams, we did what our game plan was to do,” Lamar said. “When you work on things it’s nice for it to pay off and see it Friday night. I’m really excited about that.”

The only blemish on the special teams was one missed extra point.

“Tyler Smith had one missed extra point, but I think it was a bad hold and a bad snap,” Lamar said. “He’s got to get a little more consistent on his kickoff, but for the first game, he did better than he did in the jamboree game, so there was improvement there.”

Waters was also a force on defense, having a few tackles for loss. Lamar also thought nose guard Brandon Wray had his moments of exceptional play.

Brandon Addison and Kristian Chappell, the Warriors’ two senior linebackers, also played well, according to Lamar.

“They did a very good job of running the defense, calling plays, getting us lined up properly,” he said.

West Point left the game injury-free, despite an unusually sticky night with the mix of rain and sun.

“It was unbelievably humid (Friday) night,” Lamar said. “Might have been the hottest night we’ve had in weeks. But our guys are in great shape.”

One thing that helped give the team extra energy at home was the large home crowd there for support.

“Our crowd, that might’ve been the best home crowd that I’ve seen since I’ve been there,” Lamar said. “I told the kids after the game, the community and school believes in you, and it shows by them being there. The players appreciate the community coming out to support them.”

Next week begins the tough schedule for West Point when it hosts Athens on Friday at 7 p.m.

* Laura Owens can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 258 or at lowens@cullmantimes.com.