SPORTS
Bryant-Jordan Foundation Regional Honorees for 2020-21 School Year Include Four OTM Students. PAGE 27
McBride Earns 300th Career Win in Soccer at Homewood. PAGE 27
Thursday, March 11, 2021 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
THREE OF A KIND Davis Continues Spartans’ Championship Tradition With Class 6A Crown
Mountain Brook players celebrate their sixth state championship with a 56-43 victory over Spanish Fort.
By Rubin E. Grant
F
Journal photo by Jordan Wald
rom the moment he took over as Mountain Brook’s boys basketball coach last summer, Tyler Davis told anybody who would listen that his team’s goal was not to win a state championship. Sure, the Spartans won five state championships under his predecessor, Bucky McMillan, between 2013 and 2019, becoming the dominant basketball program among large schools in the state. Davis was an assistant coach for each of those titles, but he didn’t come in saying he wanted to win a state championship in his first season. It didn’t matter. His team won one, anyway, last week at UAB’s Bartow Arena in the 99th AHSAA State Basketball Championships. After surviving a triple-overtime thriller in the Class 6A semifinals with a 66-63 victory over Eufaula, the Spartans claimed their sixth state See SPARTANS, page 26
Lady Bucs’ State Championship Game Triumph Was a Thing of Beauty By Rubin E. Grant
A day after Oak Mountain won its first ever boys basketball state championship, senior forward Noah Young was still processing what the Eagles had accomplished. “It’s still unbelievable,” Young said. “I am still trying to grasp my feelings. It’s a goal we set at the beginning of the season and the journey we took to get there was incredible.” The Eagles navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, injuries and a difficult postseason schedule. In the end, they came away with the Class 7A crown, defeating Enterprise 41-37 in the championship game last Wednesday at UAB’s Bartow Arena in the 99th AHSAA State Basketball Championships. Young sank a clutch 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining in the fourth quarter to put Oak Mountain ahead for good, 32-31. “I just let it fly,” Young said. “They had told me to take the shot if I got a chance. I expected it to go in.”
Krystle Johnson just can’t stop watching the girls Class 7A state championship basketball game. That’s because it’s a thing of beauty for the Hoover coach. Two days after guiding the Lady Bucs to a 61-37 victory over Hewitt-Trussville last Wednesday at UAB’s Bartow Arena in the 99th AHSAA State Basketball Championships, Johnson was watching a replay of the game. Hoover (32-1) limited Hewitt-Trussville (295) to just 13 made field goals and to 32.5% shooting from the field and closed the game with an 18-3 run in the final 6:34. “It’s an enjoyable game to watch,” Johnson said. “It was one of our best games of the season. All our players bought in and were locked in from the start, even on the bench.” Perhaps no player was more locked in than sophomore team captain Reniya Kelly. She scored 24 points, was 10 of 11 at the foul line, pulled down seven rebounds and had two steals
See OAK MOUNTAIN, page 26
Journal photo by Jordan Wald
By Rubin E. Grant
Oak Mountain senior forward Noah Young.
See HOOVER, page 26
Journal photo by Jordan Wald
Oak Mountain Earns Its First Boys Basketball State Championship
Reniya Kelly was named tournament MVP.
