Rebels recognized by ASWA on all-state team

By KYLE PARMLEY

The Vestavia Hills High School football team put together a solid season in 2022, posting a 7-5 mark and reaching the second round of the Class 7A playoffs. The team showed great progress under first-year head coach Robert Evans, nearly achieving a few wins over the likes of Hoover and Thompson that would have been a big boon to the program.

As a result of the season, three Rebels were recognized by the Alabama Sports Writers Association as part of the Class 7A all-state football team.

Quarterback John Paul Head put together an outstanding season leading the newlook Vestavia Hills offense. He was named a first-team athlete due to racking up 38 total touchdowns on the season. He threw for 1,871 yards and 14 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,152 more yards and 24 scores.

Defensive end Jordan Ross has begun to collect offers from SEC schools and beyond after the season he put together. The junior was named to the second team after wreaking havoc on opposing offenses all fall. Out of his 49 total tackles, 16 of them were tackles for loss, and he also recorded 2.5 sacks. Ross forced several fumbles and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns as well.

Grant Downey was named honorable mention by the ASWA after a season in which he contributed to the Rebels in multiple ways. Downey was one of the top defensive backs in 7A, intercepting eight passes. He made 29 tackles and also served as the team’s punter throughout the season.

By KYLE PARMLEY

The Alabama High School Athletic Association announced in early December an agreement to keep the state baseball and softball championships in the same place for at least the next five years.

The AHSAA’s agreement with the city of Oxford and Jacksonville State University will keep the baseball and softball championships in Calhoun County through 2027, with the same setup that was used for the first time in 2022.

Oxford’s Choccolocco Park hosted the state softball tournament for the first time in 2021 and returned in 2022 to complete a two-year contract, after the tournament was held at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park since its inception in 1986.

Moving the softball tournament to Oxford has allowed the state tournament finals in all seven AHSAA classifications to be held at the Signature Field, a stadium designed specifically for softball.

Baseball’s state final series for each of the seven classifications was previously held in

Montgomery, but a scheduling conflict forced the state to relocate those championships last spring.

That led to holding the first game of each classification’s final series at Choccolocco Park, with the second and third games the following day at Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

“We are excited to have our state championships in both sports locked in for the next five years and hopefully for many years to come,” said Alvin Briggs, AHSAA executive director. “Our experience with softball at Choccolocco Park and baseball last spring at Choccolocco Park and JSU was incredible. We had packed crowds for most of our games. Both sites provided real championship experiences and lifelong memories for our teams, schools and communities that traveled to attend.”

Choccolocco Park in Oxford has signature fields for baseball and softball, in addition to a multi-field complex that is utilized for the softball tournament games leading up to each classification’s championship game. The park has hosted many regional and national events throughout the last several years.