OVER THE MOUNTAIN
JOU RNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2011
Sports
Patriots Use Strong Second Half to Defeat Spartans. See page 22
Berguson and Denson Lead 2010 All-OTM Football Team
BY LEE DAVIS
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER
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or the Hoover Bucs, the 2010 football season was almost perfect. Coach Josh Niblett’s squad won its first 14 games, mostly by lopsided margins, and reached the Class 6A championship game at Auburn University’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Hoover Express was derailed by Daphne in a close 7-6 verdict, but that hardly diminished the Bucs’ accomplishments. Their domination was apparent by the fact that 12 Hoover players, (see photo page 23) qualified for the 2010 All-Over the Mountain football team, which is conducted by an exclusive Over the Mountain Journal poll of the head football coaches of the eight schools that participate in Class 6A or Class 5A competition. In addition, Buccaneer wide receiver Jaylon Denson was named the 2010 Over the Mountain Player of the Year. Denson caught 63 passes for 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has already verbally committed to play college football at Auburn University. The coaches chose Spain Park’s Benjamin Berguson as the 2010 Coach of the Year. After Jaguar coach David Shores was put on administrative leave because of an alleged incident involving a player just prior to the season, Berguson was named interim head coach. Under his leadership, Spain Park rallied from an 0-2 start to finish 6-6 and earn a spot in the Class 6A playoffs. Along the way, the Jaguars scored impressive upsets of Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Tuscaloosa County. Despite the strong showing, Berguson was not named Spain Park’s permanent coach for 2011.
See OTM Team, page 23
Lee Davis
Winning Hold: Caudle’s Career Ends With National Title Members of the 2010 All-Over the Mountain offensive unit include, from left, first row: Ameer Abdullah, Homewood; Ryan Raspino, Vestavia Hills; Bradley Bostick, Oak Mountain; Georgie Salem, Vestavia Hills; John McCrary, Mountain Brook. Second row: Canon Smith, Briarwood; Ben Tamburello, Spain Park; Adam Trant, Mountain Brook; Aaron Ernest, Homewood; Justin Ivory, Vestavia Hills; Coach Ben Berguson, Spain Park. Not pictured: Matthew Furuto, Briarwood; Nick Maxey, Briarwood; and Zak Michael, Spain Park.
Members of the 2010 All-Over the Mountain defensive unit include, from left, front: Alex Payne, Spain Park; Michael Cowan, John Carroll Catholic; Walker Cox, Mountain Brook; Devin Bowman, Briarwood; Justin Carter, Spain Park. Second row: Andy Whitcomb, Oak Mountain; Jeffrey Milner, Vestavia Hills; Miller Williams, Mountain Brook; Charles Mel Wilcox, Mountain Brook; Caleb Ward, Briarwood. Third row: Maricuz Harper, Vestavia Hills; Kameron Wood, John Carroll Catholic; Harrison Wright, Mountain Brook; Emmanuel Cooper, Spain Park. Not pictured: Michael Latham, John Carroll Catholic and Walker Cox, Mountain Brook. Journal photos by Marvin Gentry
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or Neil Caudle, his entire college football career was coming down to one play. His Auburn Tigers, playing Oregon for the national championship, had driven all the way to the Ducks’ one-yard line, with just enough time for a final snap of the ball. Tiger coach Gene Chizik sent in his field goal unit, which included Caudle. The former Spain Park quarterback would be holding for Wes Byrum’s kick that would determine whether the Tigers would win a national title or be forced into overtime. “We were very confident,” Caudle recalled, when contacted last week. “We had practiced it so many times. Really, it was just about like an extra point. “I had the easy part. The snap was perfect, all I had to do was put the ball down so Wes could kick it.” Byrum’s kick was perfect, and pandemonium broke out in Glendale, Arizona – and hundreds of miles away at a place called Toomer’s Corner. With a 22-19 win, Auburn had won its
See Caudle, page 23
There’s more to see at otmj.com