OAK MOUNTAIN LAYS STRONG FOUNDATION (continued)

Nick Anderson finds a huge hole running behind the Eagle Offensive Line

  QB Richie Fordham, didn’t play like a sophomore, but instead played like a cagey veteran.

Richie Fordham looks downfield for an open reciever

 

 Fordham found himself, as he started finding his receivers John Cubelic, Marshall Houston, and Norman Austin.  And Bill Henke became the “go to” guy when the Eagles had to have a big play.   He burned some opponents deep and showed his ability to go over the middle as well. Perhaps the biggest help came from the fullback position where senior Jimmy Esdale showed off as a blocker and Zac Fowler became a threat with his feet and his hands. Linebackers just simply couldn’t cover Flowler out of the backfield. (video link)  

Zac Fowler gets his engine started and it’s hard to stop

Ryan “the shoe” Shoemaker was consistent throughout the year. Whether it was splitting the uprights or hitting bombs in the punting game, he was a weapon called on many times for the Eagles. And when the Eagles needed some for sure points, they called on Mr. Consistency, Chelan Martin. However, both kickers couldn’t split the uprights if it weren’t for Jon Sanford snapping perfect snaps the entire year.

The offense exploded in a 40-7 victory over Gardendale. Things really started clicking and the confidence started rising as the players got to see how things could be and the future of the balanced offense that Coach Chris Love was directing. The high point had to be when Jonathon “juice” Atkinson pumped up the crowd with his first kickoff of the season. Coach Hood honored his hard work with an opportunity that he took advantage of. Then came the total team effort that every coach loves to see. The signature victory, so to speak, came with a 17 -10 victory over Sparkman, who also won its Area Championship in 2004. It was a victory where the Eagles had to overcome mistakes and win despite not necessarily playing its best game. The offensive line kept pounding Sparkman until the running game became effective. Fordham found Henke for a big strike to put the Eagle’s up for good, and then the defense rose to the occasion time and time again to seal up the victory for the Eagles. (video link)   An emotional Coach Hood was very proud and could hardly find the words to express his feelings. “To win a game like this....to battle...overcome mistakes....we’re starting to mature, we’re getting where we want to be.” Anyone that witnessed the game knew what the coach was saying. The program now had a firm foundation and the building blocks were starting to fall into place.

The Eagles drew from the Sparkman experience as the rode into their neighbor’s backyard to the west. Thompson has won some impressive games and was heading to the playoffs without question. They hadn’t counted on the fact that the Eagles were now playing as good as anybody in Area 10, the toughest area in the state and probably the toughest in the nation in high school football. With a little over a minute left in the game, Thompson scored what they thought would be the score that would seal the deal. With a very balanced attack and a big play out of Andrew Goodwin, (video link)   Fordham lead the Eagles and marched them downfield. On the last play of the drive, he sneaked it over for the score, only leaving a few seconds on the clock. The 21-17 victory stunned Thompson, but didn’t stun anybody wearing red and blue that night. The Oak Mountain faithful had seen this team come so far and knew that it was on the verge of something sweet. Now, they got to taste it and it tasted so good!

The Eagles stood toe to toe with the #1 team in the state, and #4 ranked team in the nation as they outscored and outplayed Hoover in the second half. Then against Mt. Brook, QB Trent McKnight and John Cubelic got things really going and had the #9 ranked team in the state on the verge of changing its playoff hopes. (video link)

 

         Trent McKnight picks up a critical first down against Mt. Brook.

 With seconds on the clock, on fourth and goal from the two, the Eagles were flagged for movement and backed up for one more shot at the end zone. It seemed as though the Eagles had the perfect setup and play called that couldn’t have been stopped, but never the less, they regrouped for one more play. McKnight found Houston near the back of the end zone, but Houston was hit just as the ball arrived and the ball fell to the ground. While the Spartans celebrated, Head Coach Joey Jones said the Eagles were the most improved team from the start to finish of the 2004 season of any team he’d seen. “They had us where they wanted us, but we were lucky to find a way.” Nice comments and a nice tribute to the men dressed in red and blue.

When they write and talk about the 2004 season at Oak Mountain , they won’t talk about championships but they will talk about Champions! A fine group of boys began the season, but a fine group of men ended it. One day these young men will have children of their own, and there will surely be times that they’ll offer their advice on many subjects.  No doubt they’ll reach back to the experiences of the 2004 season, where they learned to work, fight back, find a way, and finish like champions!