Kyle Parmley

We've got you covered for high school football at Under the Lights. Keep up with everything happening with your local school and all the others in the Starnes Media footprint with the weekly Under the Lights e-mail newsletter. The newsletter hits e-mail inboxes each Saturday morning during the fall, and hits the highlights from the games the night before.

Hoover running back Paxton Weatherly (20) is brought down by Spain Park defensive back Tristan Hill (12) during a game between Hoover High School and Spain Park on Friday, August 29, 2025, at Spain Park High School in Hoover, AL. Photo by Barry Stephenson

Homewood High School returns just four starters on offense and three on defense this season, but head coach Ben Berguson said the program’s culture and the repetitions many players picked up during last year’s deep playoff run give the Patriots a jolt heading into the fall.

Chelsea High School spent the offseason answering a question every new coaching staff has to answer first: who are we. First-year head coach Tad Niblett has spent his first months on the job trying to establish the identity of his new program.

John Carroll Catholic High School enters Will Mara’s seventh season as head coach with a new home to go with a new region. The Cavaliers move from Class 5A into Private-AA, Region 2 this fall, after the AHSAA split public and private schools.

Oak Mountain High School enters a new era this fall under first-year head coach Jason Kervin, and the rebuild has started with the small tasks. The attention to detail has been present from day one.

Hoover High School enters Chip English’s third season as head coach replacing a talented senior class with a group he said is stocked with players who simply haven’t had their turn yet.

Vestavia Hills High School enters Robert Evans’ fifth season as head coach coming off a program-record run, including a top-100 national ranking and a No. 2 finish in the Class 7A state rankings.

Spain Park High School enters 2026 with a small senior class, just 23 players, but what head coach Tim Vakakes describes as a program culture that’s been fully embraced by a group that has watched it be built by the classes before them.

Briarwood Christian Lion Leighton Hendley (10) reacts after a successful play during a Class 5A volleyball state championship semifinal match between Briarwood and Guntersville on Tues, Oct. 28, 2025, at the Birmingham Crossplex. Photo by David Leong.