Hoover Reaches Baseball Finals; Hoover and Vestavia Girls in Softball Finals Page 27
SPORTS
ASHOF Recognizes Class of 2021 Inductees and Award Winners Page 27
Thursday, May 20, 2021 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
AHSAA STATE SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
AHSAA STATE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills Boys, Spain Park Girls Claim State Golf Crowns By Rubin E. Grant
Super Six
Homewood’s Kersh Now a State Champion as a Player and a Coach; Indian Springs Earns Another Boys Soccer Title By Rubin E. Grant Julian Kersh had a hard time trying to compare what it’s like to win a state soccer championship as a player and as a coach. Kersh was a player on Homewood’s 2005 and 2006 boys state championship teams. He took over as the Patriots’ head coach in 2020, but the season was cut short because of the COVD-19 pandemic and there was no postseason. In his first full season at the helm this spring, he guided Homewood to the Class 6A state title in the 30th AHSAA State Soccer Championships on May 7-8 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. “It’s tough to put into words,” Kersh said. “It’s the ending we all dreamt up coming into the season. I remember well as a player all the joy of winning the state championship, but it’s a different pride winning as
Oak Mountain Girls End State Soccer Championship Drought; Homewood Falls in a Shootout PAGE 27 Competitive Spirit Carries Spain Park to School’s First Boys Soccer State Title PAGE 27
the coach at my alma mater. I wanted to give my players a platform to have a lifelong memory of doing it in a game they love and with their best friends.” Homewood (18-3-3) captured the title with a 2-1 victory over McGillToolen (20-6-4) in the championship game. Jacob Sitton scored the Patriots’ first goal on a header five minutes in and Yousef Nasser nailed the second goal shortly thereafter on an assist from Hardy Smith to give Homewood an early 2-0 lead.
“The key for us in the state tournament was the quick start in each game,” Kersh said. “We scored two minutes in against Fort Payne.” The Patriots defeated Fort Payne 3-0 in the semifinals. Junior forward Bryan Sokell scored just 65 seconds into the game. The early goal was especially notable because Fort Payne (17-3-3) had allowed only one goal in three playoff wins en route to the semifinals. Homewood’s Gage Estep added a goal midway through the first half, and Nasser scored midway through the second half on an assist from Adonijah Kaplelach. Homewood goalkeeper Luke Keown had three saves to earn the shutout. In the final against McGill, Homewood didn’t allow a goal until the final minutes when the Yellow Jackets’ Jackson Ward scored with an assist from Henry Kilpatrick. McGill had advanced to the final with a 3-1 win over Pelham in the semifinals. Nasser was named the Class 6A boys MVP. “It feels great,” Nasser said about winning the state title. “I’ve been dreaming about this since last year. It’s been an honor to play with this team.” The championship was the sixth in See HOMEWOOD, page 26
See GOLF, page 27
Photo by Trudy Lockett
Homewood boys’ soccer championship was the sixth in school history. Homewood (18-3-3) captured the title with a 2-1 victory over McGill-Toolen (20-6-4) in the championship game.
Mountain Brook boys golf coach Alex Lockett has run out of superlatives to describe Spartans senior golfer Gordon Sargent. “I don’t know if I can say anything about him that hasn’t been said,” Lockett said. “He’s as good as I’ve seen at this level. He will be missed around here, that’s for sure.” Sargent capped his high school career by shooting a 3-under-par 68 to earn low medalist and lead Mountain Brook to the Class 6A state title in the 71st AHSAA State Golf Championships May 10-11 at the RTJ Magnolia Grove Golf club in Mobile. Inclement weather shortened the final day of competition with only two classifications able to finish nine holes. The Class 4A boys and Class 6A girls teed off early and were able to finish nine holes – settling the state championships in those two classes covering 27 holes of play.
The tourney champions were crowned in the other classes based on first-day 18 holes of play after foregoing the final round on the par-71 course. Among those champions were the Mountain Brook boys in Class 6A (284), the Vestavia Hills boys in Class 7A (296) and the Spain Park girls in Class 7A (223). After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 AHSAA championships, Mountain Brook came back to extend its streak of consecutive state championships to four, with the other three coming in 7A. The Spartans dropped down to 6A this year. “Our guys played great,” Lockett said. “They were determined and brought back the blue (championship) plaque.” Sargent, who is headed to Vanderbilt to play in college, was the low medalist for the second time in the AHSAA tournament.
Mountain Brook boys golf team seniors with coach Alex Lockett, from left, Evans Gross, Gordon Sargent and Cole Imig.
BIRMINGHAM’S
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL Charity Partner
