SEMMES, Alabama -- Rebels quarterback Charlie Taafee scored three touchdowns and passed for another as the Vestavia Hills Rebels defeated the 7A Region 1 champions, the Mary-Montgomery Vikings, in the First Round of the 2024 playoffs at Grider Field on Thursday night. Vestavia Hills will play the winner of the Central-Phenix City at James Clemens game played this Friday night. 

Vestavia Hills (6-5) has been to the Second Round of the playoffs for the last three years. "To win and advance in the playoffs, you have to be able to do both," said Rebels head coach Robert Evans. "Our offense made many plays, and that first drive set the tempo. I told our guys we are built for this. We are. Our schedule is hard enough. We have seen the best that the state has to offer, but we are playing better football than when we played earlier this season. On a given night, if we play clean football, we can play with anybody in the state."

The Rebels scored on their first drive of the game. Taaffe found open Chase Webb on a slant play and carried the ball to midfield. A few plays later, Taaffe hit Luke Stubbs on a slant play and took it down into Vikings territory. A swing pass to Noah Boylan kept the Rebels drive alive, and the Rebels were rolling. Two plays later, Taaffe connected with Webb on a 21-yard touchdown pass play. With 8:14 left in the first quarter, the Rebels took an early 7-0 lead and set the tone for the game. "We did it all; we really didn't have much practice time this week," said running back Bruce Littleton. "We were ready tonight. We were ready for this team."

With the Vikings getting a significant kickoff return to the Rebels five-yard line, and on a fourth and one play, Vikings quarterback Shondell Harris scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and the Vikings tied the score at 7-7.

Here came Vestavia Hills right back to score again; with 2:35 left in the first quarter, Taaffe scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on a fourth down play. With the score, the Rebels took a 14-7 lead. Mary-Montgomery (9-2) took over and converted on a fourth down play, but when the Vikings had to punt, they tried a fake punt on a fourth and long but were way short on the play. The Rebels took over with a great field position inside the Viking's territory. A few plays later, with 11:54 left in the second quarter, Littleton scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Vestavia Hills led 21-7. That was three possessions and three touchdowns to start the game.

With 6:03 left in the second quarter, the Rebels scored a fourth time in a row when Taaffe scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Right before the half, with Vestavia Hills driving to score again, the Vikings made an excellent defensive play by Skylar Bush, who forced a fumble on a tackle, and Tricksey San Juan jumped on the fumble with 1:10 left in the half. That is all the Vikings needed as they turned it into a score with only five seconds left in the half; Harris hit Devin Pettway on a 4-yard touchdown pass play to give Mary-Montgomery some much-needed momentum going into halftime. With the score, Vestavia Hills still led 28-14.

With the Vikings getting the ball in the second half, Mary-Montgomery took advantage of it and scored again. With 7:36 left in the third quarter, Harris sprinted 46 yards down the right sidelines, and the Vikings cut the lead to 28-21, but here came the Rebels again. With 4:55 left in the third quarter, Taaffe faked a handoff and raced 24 yards up the middle for a touchdown. With the score, Vestavia Hills led 35-21. 

The Rebels' defense shut down the Vikings' offense for most of the second half and put them in a bad field position. Late in the game, with the Vikings at their own 10-yard line, they had to go for a fourth and 15, and the pass was incomplete, and Vestavia Hills took over deep in the red zone. With 4:07 left in the game, Littleton scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, and Vestavia Hills took the 42-21 lead and ended the game. "They had more time to prepare, but we get a ton of reps during the week," said safety Spence Hanna. "We are always prepared and had the momentum coming into this game. We have been battled tested with our tough schedule."

Vestavia Hills quarterback Taaffe had a huge game. The sophomore QB completed 22-of-28 passing for 244 yards and a touchdown with 94 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns. "Charlie is a winner. He had to open with Carver (Mongtomery) and Auburn," added Evans. "It is like taking the donut off the bat when you're not playing Carver and Auburn. He is having an outstanding second half of the season, and I'm glad he is our quarterback." 

The Vestavia Hills defense had a key player return in linebacker Jacob Watson. Watson has been out for weeks and greatly impacted in this win. "This meant the world to me to get back," said Rebels Watson. "I was ready to play football. Our guys really came through tonight." Watson had eight tackles and a tackle-for-loss in the win. "We haven't had him since Hillcrest," said Evans. "He has done an amazing job of getting himself back into shape. It is noticeable when he is back on the field. He is a leader, and the players follow him."

Next, Vestavia Hills will advance in the playoffs and play the winner of the Central-Phenix City at James Clemens game on Friday night.