Three first half goals powered the Homewood Patriots past the defending state champion Mountain Brook Spartans Tuesday night in the second round of the 6A state playoffs.  

During their first matchup of the season in late March, the rivals battled for a 0-0 stalemate, but four different Patriots found the back of the net this time around for a historic 4-0 home victory.

Dean Armistead kicked off the rout, knocking in a close-range header off a Will Jackson corner kick a mere 5 minutes into the match. 

The early goal appeared to wake up Mountain Brook, who had the better possession in the next 10 minutes of the match, playing intricate, combination soccer in Homewood’s half.  

However, the Patriots found the back of the net once again in the 28’ courtesy of Isaac Aaroz taking control of a rogue ball off his defender and skipping it past the onrushing keeper’s hand.

And then this happened for Homewood’s third.

To round off the first half, sophomore Gid Malone received a bending ball from Jackson as he was streaking down the right sideline. Malone then made the Mountain Brook defender touch grass in his box with a filthy chop turn. 

His next touch got the ball out from under his feet and set him off toward the near post where he finished the highlight with a casual shot into the back of the net in the 35’. 

Head Coach Julian Kersh’s emphasized to his team at half time that the job was not finished, and 40 second-half minutes could feel like an eternity against a talented opponent.

The Patriots had a slightly slower start in the second half, failing to win headers or chance balls, leading to a lot more swings in control. 

However, Armistead’s extra hustle after a wayward through ball pressured the Spartan’s keeper into leaving the box and fervently playing the ball out of bounds, hoping to give his defense a chance to reset.

Armistead, realizing the opportunity, quickly threw the ball back in play to one Cooper Gillis barreling down the middle of the field, who headed the throw straight past the retreating goalie, giving Homewood the final extra cushion they needed. 

Kersh took no time to revel in the glory of such a hard-fought goal as he immediately started demanding better challenges on chance balls from his midfield, insisting that his boys should “never let the ball touch the ground.” 

From then on, Homewood’s defense held impenetrable until the final whistle, never allowing Mountain Brook’s chances to become anything more.

Kersh emphasized after the match that while other teams might not have underestimated Homewood’s skills before, they are definitely “not flying under the radar anymore.” 

“There are going to be a lot of teams waking up and seeing a 4-0 scoreline against Mountain Brook, and they’re going to think, ‘these guys are for real,’” Kersh said.

Kersh is no stranger to the pressure of trying to defend a state title, having to face it during last year’s playoff run (which fell short at the hands of Mountain Brook), but he expressed that this year, “it feels like there was a little less pressure on us.” 

“As we’ve just seen with Mountain Brook,” Kersh said further, “it’s tough to play with a target on your back as the defending state champions.” 

However, even though he fully believed his players could get the job done, he “could have never predicted 4-0.”

“Mountain Brook has a lot of high-level guys that play up the field,” captain Charlie Herring said. “That’s really what led to our failures last year was not taking care of those guys, but this time around Dobbs (Durkin), (Charlie) Webb, JK (Jackson Kittinger), Art (Bradley Artega), Gid (Malone)… they locked them down.” 

“Mountain Brook has that extra spice to it, obviously, but they’re gone now, we beat them,” Herring said, but now “we’ve got the rest of the playoffs and a state championship to win.”

“I do know this,” Kersh concluded, “everyone that stepped on the field for me did their job. The level never dropped, and everyone was fantastic. These results are the product of a team where 24 guys believe in each other, and they’re not going to drop their heads no matter what. We got our nose in front and just kept pushing, pushing, pushing.” 

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