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The 1980 Vestavia Hills Rebels won the Class 4A State Championship with a 15-13 victory over Parker. The team finished the season with a 13-1 record with the lone loss coming against rival Berry mid-season. The Rebels had come up short the previous two seasons losing to Jeff Davis 21-7 in the finals in 1978 and to Enterprise 14-13 in 1979.           The Rebels were led by all-state quarterback Danny Salchert and junior fullback Lance Gulledge. Game summaries from 1981 Vestavia Hills yearbook   Mountain Brook 0   0         14     Vestavia Hills 7   14         28             Vestavia started its football season off with a bang when the team gunned down the Mt. Brook Spartans 28-14. Vestavia, on it first possession, drove 61 yards with a one-yard plunge by Lance Gulledge for the opening touchdown. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Danny Salchert made a spectacular 62-yard for the next Rebel touchdown.           Then, seconds before halftime, Phillip Lee received a 21-yard pass from Salchert to make the score 21-0. The final touchdown was scored when John Wilson ran in from the ten. This assured the Rebels of their first victory with a final score of 28-14.   Vestavia Hills 12   0   0   0   12     Walker 0   0   0   6   6             Rebels beat Walker 12-6. Rebels received the opening kickoff and scored in 3 plays, which included a 47-yard run by Lance Gulledge to the Walker 10. Danny Salchert took it in for the score. On the Rebels' second possession they drove 69 yards, scoring on a touchdown pass from Salchert to Joe Robbins. The Rebels failed on both their attempts for the extra point. Walker scored in the fourth making the final score 12-6.   Vestavia Hills             35     Gadsden             7             The Ragin' Rebels caged the Gadsden Tigers with a 35-7 victory. The first Rebel score capped a 64-yard drive in which Danny Salchert completed a 35-yard pass to Chuck Tartar. The score came on a 3-yard plunge by Lance Gulledge. Danny Pritchard added the PAT. The second touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Ted McCullough which ended a 53-yard drive. Pritchard's kick was true.           On the next Gadsden possession, Brooks Browne intercepted a Tiger pass which he carried to the Tiger 28. The offense took over and Lance Gulledge scored on a 5-yard run. The next Rebel score came on a 34-yard TD pass to Matt Sankey. Salchert passed to John Wilson for the two-point conversion. The final Rebel TD came when Ricky Rookis recovered a blocked punt in the end zone. Pritchard's kick was good.   Bradshaw 6   0   0   0   6     Vestavia Hills 7   14   14   7   42             Rebels battle the Bruins 42-6. After the Bruins gave the Rebels a score by scoring first on a fumbled punt, the Rebel defenders did not let them closer than the 34-yard line. In the first half, Vestavia scored three times. These scores came on a run of 1 yard by Lance Gulledge and runs of 3 yards and 12 yards by Danny Salchert.           In the second half Vestavia scored three more times, the last one coming on a 2-yard run by Greg Smith. Danny Pritchard's extra points were good.   Vestavia Hills             7     Berry             14             The following week the Rebs experienced a heartbreaking loss to their biggest rivals -- the Berry Bucs. The only Vestavia touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from Danny Salchert to split end Matt Sankey. Pritchard's kick made the final score 14-7 in favor of the Bucs.   John Carroll 0   0   0   0   0     Vestavia Hills             26             Rebels celebrate Homecoming victory. Determined to rebound from its disappointing upset the week before, the Rebs showed no mercy as they shutout John Carroll with a score of 26-0. The Rebels were led by quarterback Danny Salchert, who scored twice in the first half with runs of one and nine yards.           Running back Lance Gulledge gained 159 yards on only 12 carries, including a 63-yard scoring dash in the 3rd period. Vestavia obtained their final points in the third when Salchert scored again, this time from five yards out. The PAT was good, giving Vestavia a homecoming victory with of 26-0.   Vestavia Hills 7   7   0   0   14     Homewood 0   0   0   0   0             Vestavia antagonizes Patriots 14-0. Vestavia blazed by Homewood with a final score of 14-0. Lance Gulledge scored both of Vestavia's touchdowns. With 20 seconds left in the first quarter, Gulledge made his first touchdown from the one and Danny Pritchard kicked the extra point.           In the second quarter Gulledge ran in from the 3 and Pritchard again kicked the extra point. During the rest of the game, both teams settled down to a conservative offensive and an aggressive defensive game.   Carver Montgomery 0   7   0   0   7     Vestavia Hills 0   7         28             Rebels rain on Carver. In the longest game every played, our Rebels defeated Carver 27-7. After a Carver TD, Vestavia took the returning kickoff and drove 76 yards with Danny Salchert passing the final 5 yards to end Phillip Lee, 10 seconds before the game was stopped because of lightning and rain.           After a 24-hour halftime, the Rebs started the second half as Phillip Lee took in a 13-yard Danny Salchert pass for a score, and Pritchard added the kick for a 14-7 lead. Later Salchert threw a 29-yard strike to Keith Woods in the end zone. The kick was no good. The scoring ended when Lance Gulledge made a one-yard run. Pritchard's kick was good and gave Vestavia the win with a score of 27-7.           During Saturday's night game Gulledge rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries and Salchert was two for three as he passed for 142 yards.   Vestavia Hills 0   20   3   0   23     Shades Valley 0   0   0   0   0             Rebs spook Mounties. Something must have given the Mounties a scare as the Rebels shut out Shades Valley on Halloween night with a score of 23-0. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rebs scored on a 5-yard dash by Danny Salchert. A few minutes later, Vestavia scored again after Brooks Browne recovered a Mountie fumble on the Valley 33-yard line.           An interception by Pat Visintainer helped the Rebs to score again as Lance Gulledge followed with a touchdown on a one-yard drive. Due to a bad snap, Pritchard's PAT was no good, but he came back in the third quarter to kick a 27-yard field goal, which gave Vestavia its 23-0 victory. In addition to this spectacular victory, Lance Gulledge broke the 1,000 yard mark in rushing early in the third quarter.   Talladega 0   0   0   0   0     Vestavia Hills 7   7         28             Vestavia Rebels earned the Region 7 crown for the third year in a row after defeating the Tigers of Talladega by a score of 28-0. The Rebs took charge early in the game as Salchert scored the first TD from two yards out. Before the half was over, Calchert connected with Mike Spink on a 25-yard pass in the end zone, capping a 61-yard drive and advancing the score to 14-0.           After Eldridge Grant stopped a possible TD on the Reb's 33-yard line, Salchert scored again from 15 yards out. When the Tigers lost the ball on a fourth down, Salchert scored once more on a two-yard keeper, Pritchard kicked the final point to give Vestavia its fourth shutout of the season.   Vestavia Hills             7     Berry 0   0   0   0   0             In the first round of the State Playoffs, the raging Rebels came onto the field with a big surprise as they showed up wearing their new, bright red jerseys and the numbers "14-7" taped on the back of their helmets to remind them of their previous loss to Berry earlier in the year.           After nine years of being beaten by the Bucs, the fiery Rebs were ready to stop the tradition -- and that they did. After Danny Salchert guided the Rebel offense 72 yards in six plays, Lance Gulledge score the only touchdown of the game with an 18-yard run. Pritchard's kick was good, and the score of 7-0 remained intact for the rest of the game. The Bucs were denied the ball many times due to the extraordinary running tactics of fullback Ted McCullough.   Banks 0   0   3   0   3     Vestavia Hills 0   0   7   6   13             A little rain didn't stop the Rebels from advancing to the semi-finals of the State Playoffs. After a scoreless first half, Banks, unable to move the ball in the 3rd quarter, resorted to a flea-flicker which yielded nothing but a field goal. Later in the third quarter, the Rebels blocked a Jet punt and got the ball on the Banks' 15.           Four plays later, Lance Gulledge ran the ball in from the two. Danny Pritchard added the PAT. On the next Rebel possession, Vestavia mounted the only serious drive of the game, which started on the Rebel 47. The final 5 yards came on a pitch from Danny Salchert to Lance Gulledge. Pritchard's kick failed.           Vestavia had 218 yards total offense compared to Banks' 132. Lance Gulledge, Vestavia's leading rusher, had 89 yards in 21 carries.   Vestavia Hills 7   7   0   0   14     Grissom             3             Vestavia had a decisive win over the Grissom Tigers in the semi-finals of the State Playoffs. The first Vestavia touchdown was made when Danny Salchert completed a pass to Keith Woods from the three-yard line, and Danny Pritchard kicked the extra point. In the second quarter, Salchert ran three yards for the last touchdown, making the final score 14-3.           This important win allowed the Rebels to advance to the finals.   Vestavia Hills 0   6   0   9   15     Parker 0   0   6   7   13             It took three grueling years, but the Rebels won the championship by beating the Thundering Herd of Parker High. The electricity in the air was felt by both players and spectators. On the Rebels' first possession, they drove 69 yards for the game's first touchdown. Lance Gulledge keying the march. Danny Pritchard's kick was blocked.           The rest of the first half was a defensive struggle. So, the next half proved to be the deciding 24 minutes. Beginning the third quarter, Parker tied the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass. Vestavia retaliated with 6 points of their own with a 1-yard run by Lance Gulledge. This capped a 64-yard drive, but the try for the two-point conversion failed.           The Rebels, still led going into the fourth quarter, but Parker scored the go ahead touchdown making the score 13-12. Then with 7:20 to play in the fourth quarter, Vestavia marched 62 yards down the field, aided by a 34-yard run by Ted McCullough to the five. After being stopped three times for a touchdown, Danny Pritchard kicked a 17-yard field goal, and the Rebels led 15-13.           Parker then mounted a serious drive which was ended when Craig Farris intercepted a pass. The Rebels then ran out the clock to wrap up the 4A State Championship. Vestavia Hills 1980 8/30  28     Mountain Brook  . . . . . 14 9/5  12     Walker  . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9/19  35     Gadsden  . . . . . . . . . . . 7 9/26  42     Bradshaw  . . . . . . . . . . 6 10/3  7     Berry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 10/10  26     John Carroll  . . . . . . 0 10/17  14     Homewood  . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/24  28     Carver Montgomery  . . . 7 10/31  23     Shades Valley  . . . . . 0 11/7  28     Talladega  . . . . . . . . . 0 11/14  7     Berry * . . . . . . . . . . . 0 11/21  13     Banks * . . . . . . . . . . . 3 11/28  14     Grissom * . . . . . . . . . 3 12/5  15     Parker # . . . . . . . . . . 13 292 13-1 73 * Playoff game # State championship game

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