Huskies rout Oak Mountain with balanced attack

TRUSSVILLE — The Oak Mountain High School football team may be seeing red. 

Class 7A fourth-ranked Hewitt-Trussville scored touchdowns on five of its first six drives in the first half and cruised to a 51-21 win over visiting Oak Mountain on Friday night. 

With the win, the Huskies secure the third seed for the Class 7A playoffs out of Region 3. The Eagles will be the fourth seed. 

“I thought we were able to get them in some lost yardage situations early and I think that really helped,” said Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd. 

The Huskies (8-2, 5-2 in region) scored on the fourth play of the game when quarterback Cade Carruth connected with Matt Miller for a 17-yard score. Armoni Goodwin rushed for a 28-yard touchdown on the Huskies’ next offensive snap, and Carruth hit Carter Hollis on a 15-yard fade route to go up 20-0. 

Oak Mountain (6-3, 4-3) squandered an opportunity on the ensuing drive when quarterback Evan Smith fumbled on the Hewitt-Trussville 2-yard line. It was recovered by Jamarion White. 

The Huskies went up 27-0 when Carruth found Cayson Zackery for a 33-yard TD late in the second quarter. Oak Mountain answered a drive later when Smith found the end zone from 2 yards out. But the Huskies scored 28 seconds later on a 57-yard run by Sean Jackson, a gain that put him over 2,000 yards for his career. 

“I knew he was close,” Floyd said. “Sean has had a heck of a career here. I hate that he’s almost done. Hopefully we’re going to go one game at a time. He’s had a great career, but he’s had an incredible senior year. He’s a great leader for us. He comes to work every day and grinds, works hard every day. He’s a super kid.”

Oak Mountain went 37 yards in six plays to open the third quarter, capped by Smith’s 17-yard scoring run. Hewitt-Trussville again answered less than two minutes later when Carruth threw a strike to Zackery for a 35-yard score, giving the Huskies a 41-14 advantage. 

Smith scored his third touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter, and Goodwin answered on the Huskies’ following drive with a 16-yard score. Ethan Wilson knocked through a 40-yard field goal for the final points of the game. 

“I thought we played physical football, and I think that helped us on both sides of the ball,” Floyd said. “I’m proud of the way our guys made plays tonight. You’ve got to make plays in a one-on-one situation.”

For Oak Mountain, Smith finished with 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Judah Tait rushed 20 times for 110 yards. The Eagles completed only 1-of-7 passes in the game, and that completion came from Titus Tucker to Warner Perry with 3:44 left in the game. 

For Hewitt-Trussville, Carruth finished 13-of-15 for 232 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson tallied 106 yards and one touchdown on nine carries. Goodwin carried the ball nine times for 90 yards and two scores. Zackery caught three passes for 80 yards and two scores. Jackson finished with 60 yards on three receptions. Hewitt-Trussville averaged 10.2 yards per play to a 5.8 average for Oak Mountain. The Huskies amassed 450 total yards to the Eagles’ 338. 

The Huskies also got three turnovers — two fumble recoveries by White and Braylon Chatman, and an interception by Trey Washington. 

“I think we’re playing good football, and that’s the key,” Floyd said. 

Hewitt-Trussville has next week off before the Class 7A playoffs begin, likely on the road at James Clemens. Oak Mountain closes out the regular season next week at Class 6A Clay-Chalkville before opening the 7A playoffs at Austin. 

“I think it’s going to help us,” Floyd said. “We’re definitely banged up. We had some guys out. I’m proud of our guys because we had some guys step up tonight that haven’t been playing as much. We’ve got some injuries so hopefully those guys will be back by the first round.” 

Click here to view and purchase photos from the game.