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The Oak Mountain Eagles found themselves unable to stop Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa as three interceptions marred Will O’Dell’s 452-yard all-purpose performance. (For the Reporter/Barry Clemmons)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Oak Mountain Eagles found themselves unable to keep pace with a high-powered Hillcrest Patriots attack as the visitors from Tuscaloosa walked away with a 50-36 win on Oct. 25 at Heardmont Park.

The Patriots scored on every drive but their final one of the game as the Oak Mountain defense had no answer for the offense.

Hillcrest came out of the gate firing as Christian Richey scored just 1:49 into the game off a 38-yard rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

Oak Mountain responded with its own quick scoring drive, getting 67 yards down the field off a Will O’Dell bomb to Zach Fitzgerald before O’Dell scored with his legs from two yards out to tie up the game at 7-7.

However, the Patriots settled in and began to take more time off the clock while still finding the end zone.

Hillcrest quarterback Bryson Kimbrough ran it in from three yards out with 4:46 remaining in the first to cap a seven-play drive, and on the team’s next drive, the backfield got in on the action with another 3-yard rushing touchdown, this time from the running back spot.

That made the score 21-7 with 10:20 remaining in the second after Oak Mountain was forced to punt in between Hillcrest’s scoring drives.

On the next Eagles drive, O’Dell provided a spark for his team’s offense with a 53-yard rushing touchdown. However, the Patriots blocked the ensuing extra point, making the score 21-13.

Hillcrest then restored its two-score lead with 2:48 remaining in the half off another quarterback keeper from two yards out for a 29-13 advantage.

O’Dell led the Eagles on a promising nine-play, 72-yard drive from there, but it ended in disaster with an interception in the end zone.

It wasn’t all negative for Oak Mountain though as the Patriots couldn’t take it out of the end zone and the defender was tackled for a safety, which left Hillcrest’s halftime lead at 29-15.

The Eagles responded to start the third quarter as O’Dell found running back Marty Myricks in the air for a 56-yard touchdown, making it a one-score game a 28-22 with 10:57 left in the third.

On the ensuing drive, the Oak Mountain defense nearly got out with a fourth-down stop after spending five minutes on the field, but Richey ran 30 yards into the end zone for the score. The Patriots tacked on a 2-point conversion to go up 36-22 with 5:55 remaining in the third.

Just over a minute later, Fitzgerald made sure that the Eagles stayed in the game as he took an 8-yard pass from O’Dell at the 50 and turned it into a 55-yard touchdown, cutting the gap to 36-29.

Two minutes later though, Jacobi Harris went 18 yards down the right sideline to make it a two-score lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Patriots got another interception early in the fourth quarter and proceeded to both run down the clock and add to their lead. Kimbrough scored off a 12-yard quarterback run to put the visitors up 50-29 with just 6:09 remaining.

Oak Mountain mounted one last stand though as O’Dell found Jacob Moore on the run for a 20-yard touchdown, making the score 50-36 with 4:45 left in the game.

That momentum only grew once the Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick, but two plays later, their hopes were dashed by a third interception, and Hillcrest saw out the 14-point win.

O’Dell went 17-for-25 passing for 345 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns for a total of 452 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns.

Fitzgerald was his top target with five catches for 174 yards and a touchdown. Boston Brewer had three receptions for 55 yards and Moore earned 32 yards and a touchdown off three catches. Myricks took three catches for 62 yards and a touchdown as well as eight carries for 40 yards.

On defense, Colby King led the way with nine tackles, including seven solo tackles and one for loss. Will Yoder and JC Schwender each had seven tackles with Yoder earning six solo tackles and Schwender having five solo tackles and one for loss.

Cole Kelly earned five solo tackles, Joey Lewis had five tackles and Robert Yoder and Jayden Apraicio-Bailey each grabbed three tackles, with Aparicio-Bailey also deflecting a pass in addition to his three solo tackles.

Oak Mountain will finish out the 2024 season with a non-region rivalry game against the Chelsea Hornets on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at Heardmont Park.

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