By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

Oak Mountain 2 Mountain Brook 3

The Eagles and Spartans took to the field in a massive Class 7A Area 6 showdown on Thursday, March 23. In a thrilling game that was tied after double overtime, Mountain Brook won 3-2 after five sets of shootouts. The Spartans were able to take advantage of a block in the first set and carried a one-goal lead throughout the remaining four sets.

Oak Mountain was up 2-1 after a Kennedy Davis penalty kick with just under 6:30 to play. Mountain Brook was able to respond by converting a PK of their own with 5:09 left to play as both teams ended regulation with thrilling goals. Victor Perez and Davis accounted for both of the Eagles’ goals during regulation. The two teams have now split 3-2 matchups in the last week.

The loss moved No. 1 Oak Mountain to 10-3-2 overall this season and 2-1 in area play. No. 3 Mountain Brook took possession of first place in the area by moving to 3-1 with an overall record of 15-3-1.

Briarwood 2 John Carroll 2

John Carroll came into this matchup having gone 0-5-2 over their last seven games, while the No. 6 Lions had only lost once in their last eight games. It was definitely a game Briarwood should’ve handled, but the Cavaliers fought hard to a 2-2 tie.

The Lions now sit at 8-5-2 overall this season, but most importantly they remain a perfect 2-0 in Class 4A-5A Area 8, which features Calera and Woodlawn. After spring break they will have one more game with each of those opponents and should put away the area crown.

Calera 7 Woodlawn 0 

After starting the season with a loss to Thompson, Calera (8-6) rattled off three consecutive wins up until a March 3 matchup with Briarwood. Since then they have traded a win for a loss as they haven’t won or lost consecutive games since that date going 5-5 in their last 10 games.

That trend continued into its 20^th day as the Eagles followed a 4-1 loss to Chelsea on Tuesday with a rebound 7-0 thumping of area challenger Woodlawn. It marked their second area game of the season and Calera was able to even their record at 1-1 with a big matchup against briarwood looming shortly after spring break.

Westminster at Oak Mountain 0 Homewood 3

In the first of four consecutive road games, the No. 1 1A-3A Westminster at Oak Mountain Knights fell 3-0 in a tough matchup against 6A No. 6 Homewood. The loss marked was only the second all season for the Knights, who had gotten off to a 10-1-1 start.

Despite the loss, the Knights have still won seven of their past nine games with one tie and one loss in between and sit atop their classification with a 2-0 record.

Indian Springs 1 Altamont 0 

In a big 1A-3A ranked matchup between No. 1 Indian Springs and No. 5 Altamont, the visiting Indian Springs took a low scoring 1-0 win. It marked their fourth win in a row as they have taken six of their past eight games with two ties being the only thing keeping them from eight straight wins.

Springs currently sits at 3-0 in Area 3 play and with just three games remaining against area opponents they stand a good chance to come out on to at seasons end.