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SPORTS
Mountain Brook proud of the way it battled in championship game loss. Page 42 SPORTS
Thursday, December 15, 2022 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Hoover girls basketball team on a quest for a three-peat. Page 43
THE 2022 OTMJ ALL-OVER THE MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM
2022 OTM OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
‘Hot Hand’
Gamble Pays Off Big as Spartans’ Featured Back
By RuBin E. GRant
Mountain Brook junior running back Cole Gamble began the 2022 high school football season splitting time in the backfield with Jack King and Will Waldrop.
“We hope to keep each of them fresh,” Spartans coach Chris Yeager said before the season. “They allow us to run schemes using two backs at a time or three at a time.”
But midway through the season, Gamble emerged as the Spartans’ primary ballcarrier, becoming a workhorse.
That was never more evident than in the state playoffs when he rushed for 1,031 yards and 18 touchdowns on 121 carries – averaging 8.5 yards per carry – in five games as Mountain Brook finished as Class 6A runners-up with a
See GAMBLE, page 42
2022 OTM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Wright’s Leadership Made Him Cornerstone of Mountain Brook’s Defense
By RuBin E. GRant
Late in the fourth quarter of the Class 6A championship football game on Dec. 2, Mountain Brook senior linebacker Trent Wright went down in a pile on the ground at JordanHare Stadium in Auburn.
Wright didn’t get up. He had snapped the fibula in his right leg and torn all the ligaments in his ankle.
“I was running to make a tackle and in the pile somebody fell on it,” Wright said. “I was in a lot of pain.”
It turned out to be the final play of Wright’s high school career and, truly, he had left it all on the field. He recorded 10 tackles while trying to bring Mountain Brook its first state championship since the Spartans won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.
Mountain Brook fell 38-17 to Saraland and the next day Wright had surgery that will require three to six months of recovery and rehab.
The pain from the injury stung more than the championship loss because Wright knew the Spartans had played their hearts out.
“It’s another football disappointment to get through, but when we look back at it and think about the journey of how we got there, we’ll see the bright side of what we accomplished,” Wright said. “We were the winningest seniors in Mountain Brook history.”
Members of the 2022 All-OTM offensive team are, front, from left: Clark Sanderson, Mountain Brook; Mac Smith, Mountain Brook; Cole Gamble, Mountain Brook; Luke Schultz, Briarwood; and Glen Porter, Vestavia Hills. Back: Woods Ray, Homewood; Jaxon Brooks, Homewood; Jackson Parris, Homewood; Davis Peterson, Mountain Brook and Coach of the Year, Chris Yeager, Mountain Brook. Not picutred: LaMarion McCammon, Hoover; Keown Richardson, Vestavia Hills; and Peyton Argent, Hoover. (Hoover and Spain Park players not pictured because they were attending their football banquets).
Members of the 2022 All-OTM defensive team, front, from left: Clay Burdeshaw, Homewood; Jordan Ross, Vestavia Hills; Trent Wright, Mountain Brook; Mac Palmer, Mountain Brook; and Carter Lehman, Oak Mountain. Back: Grant Downey, Vestavia Hills; Talton Thomas, Homewood; Zach Archer, John Carroll Catholic; and Garrett Murphy, Oak Mountain. Not pictured: Jordan Norman, Hoover; Andrew Parrish, Hoover; Emmanuel Waller, Oak Mountain; Caldwell Bussey, Spain Park; Bradley Shaw, Hoover; and DJ Estes, Hoover.
2022 OTM COACH OF THE YEAR
Yeager Surprised to Be Voted OTM Coach of the Year
By RuBin E. GRant
2022 All-OTM Coach of the Year.
He pointed to his former defensive coordinator Robert Evans, who guided Vestavia Hills to a 7-5 record and a second-round Class 7A playoff appearance in his first season; Wade Waldrop, who led Hoover to an 11-2 record and a Class 7A semifinal trip in his first season; and Ben Berguson, who led Homewood to a 10-3 record and the Class 6A quarterfinals.
But when the votes of Over-the-Mountain football coaches were tallied, Yeager had earned the nod for the second consecutive season.
“I’m a little surprised,” Yeager said. “Rob did a great job and Wade did a great job at Hoover following (former Bucs coach) Josh Niblett, and gosh, Ben Berguson did a great job at Homewood.”
The Spartans swept the 2022 All-OTM awards with junior running back Cole Gamble being voted the Offensive Player of the Year and senior linebacker Trent Wright being selected Defensive Player of the Year.
Mountain Brook finished with a 12-3 record and reached the Class 6A championship before losing 38-17 to Saraland.
Yeager wouldn’t say whether this season was his best coaching job, quickly pivoting to his coaching staff. He praised the work of all his assistants, including Shane Stearns, who was elevated to defensive coordinator after Robert Evans left, co-offensive coordinators Richard Kelley and Brad Easley, new defensive coaches Buddy Pell and Chad Merrill and new strength
