VESTAVIA HILLS 17, MOUNTAIN BROOK 14 (2 OT)

Vestavia Hills 17, Mountain Brook 14 (2 OT)

Photo Credit: Bill Lumpkin

Manraj Singh’s 18-yard field goal lifted Vestavia Hills to a 14-14 victory over Class 7A No. 9-ranked Mountain Brook on Friday.

Bradberry, who earlier blocked a punt to set up Vestavia’s first touchdown, intercepted Hamp Sisson’s pass on third-and-13 on Mountain Brook’s third play of the second overtime.

Toliver Chatwood, who scored on a 4-yard run in the first overtime on a 4-yard run, carried twice for 6 and 3 yards before Singh came in on third down. His game-winning kick set off a wild celebration on the Vestavia (4-3, 2-3) sideline.

Tied at 7-all at the end of regulation, Chatwood scored on the second play of the first overtime to give the Rebels a 14-7 lead.

Sisson answered for Mountain Brook (5-2, 3-2) with a 10-yard run on the first play for the Spartans.

Mountain Brook jumped out to a 7-0 lead with an 81-yard, 13-play drive after Zachary Carroll had recovered a Vestavia fumble at the Spartans’ 19. Harold Joiner scored from 2 yards out to give the visitors the lead with 9:18 to go in the half.

Vestavia answered before the half when Bradberry blocked Mason Dillard’s punt, the ball bounced off one of the officials, and Jonathan Hess scooped up the loose ball and rambled 5 yards for the touchdown with 2:46 to go before halftime. -- Star of the game: Give Bradberry the game ball after he with blocked a punt for a touchdown and his interception to set up the game-winning field goal.

-- Play of the Game: Facing third-and-13 in the second overtime, Bradberry drifted back in coverage and intercepted Sisson’s right across the middle.

-- Key sequence: Deadlocked at 7-all in the fourth quarter, Caleb Huber got off punts of 42 and 36 yards to pin the Spartans back at their own 12 and 3. That allowed the Rebels to gain field position and force overtime.

-- Stat sheet: Vestavia QB Coleman Petway rushed for 22 yards on 16 carries and threw for 132 yards on 9-of-14 passing to lead the Rebels. … Both teams struggled on the ground with Vestavia managing 70 yards on 35 attempts and Mountain Brook 136 yards on 38 carries. … Sam Everette led the Spartans on the ground with 56 yards on 11 carries, but had only one carry in the second half. Sisson added 55 yards on 14 carries. … Mitchell Langley had four catches for 68 yards for the Rebels. … Vestavia blocked Dillard’s 46-yard field goal attempt midway through the first quarter. ... The two teams had similar total offense totals -- Vestavia finishing with 202 and Mountain Brook 224.

-- By The Numbers: 39, Vestavia Hills coach Buddy Anderson is in his 39th season and is the state’s all-time winningest coach with a 324-138 record. … 2, Both Mountain Brook (1975, 76) and Vestavia Hills (1980, 98) own a pair of state championships. … 81, Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager is 81-43 since taking over the Mountain Brook program in 2006. …29, the Rebels improved to 29-22 all-time vs. Mountain Brook.

-- Coachspeak: “We were able to play one play at a time and put the last play behind us. Our kids played their hearts out. Plus, the kicking game was huge with field position, the blocked field goal, the blocked punt and the short field goal to win the game. The blocked punt right before the half was huge.” – Vestavia Hills coach Buddy Anderson

-- They Said It …: “This is a great feeling. It’s the feeling you live for and what you play football for. This is just a great rivalry, and now we can celebrate this week and fight again next week. In the overtime, when I heard the play called, I was like, ‘OK, I have to get this 4 yards and score the touchdown.” – Chatwood

“This was a huge win. It keeps our playoff hopes alive. We came out fighting and kept on fighting until the end. The defense deserves all the credit. They gave us great field position all night, then got us the turnover in overtime.” – Petway

“We were blitzing through the ‘A’ gap and the way the center blocked, then one of us was supposed to drop back in coverage. I dropped back in the middle and he threw it right to me. It’s an incredible feeling. We practiced the punt block all week and I told myself I was going to get that punt.” – Bradberry

-- Next week: Mountain Brook hits the road against Oak Mountain, while Vestavia Hills travels to Hoover
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