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The 2005 Homewood Patriots hoped to do something none of the previous four state championships teams at the school had been able to accomplish. Win back-to-back titles. Last year's team finished with a 14-1 record and won the Class 5A title with a 35-21 win over Russellville.           The returning cast included; QB Austin Hubbard (6-1, 190), Sr.; WR Tim Hawthorne (6-3, 200), Sr.; OL David Ross (6-3, 295), Sr.; RB Steve Freeman (5-10, 196), Sr.; LB Stan Galbraith (5-10, 215), Sr.; WB LaDarius Woods (5-11, 185), Jr.; DL Robert Gentry (5-0, 230), Sr.; DB/P Brad Wilson (5-10, 160), Sr.           The Homewood seniors also had a chance to close out their careers as the winningest seniors at the school. They were definitely the team to beat in Region 3. Anything short of a championship would be a disappointment.

Homewood 14   10   9   7   40     Shades Valley 2   0   0   0   2

Homewood opened the season with a 40-2 victory over the Shades Valley Mounties. Austin Hubbard threw for for 176 yards and three touchdowns and scored once on a 3-yard run as the Patriots wore down the Shades Valley defense over the course of the game. Hubbard tossed scoring passes of 38 yards to Tyler Robbins, 28 yards LaDarius Woods and 43 yards to Brandon Morrow.

Sylacauga 0   0   0   9   9     Homewood 14   21   7   7   49

Stephen Freeman rushed for 147 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Homewood Patriots routed Sylacauga 49-9 in week two. The Top-ranked Patriots led 35-0 at the half and coasted to the victory at home. Freeman scored on runs of 12, 1, 10 and 2 yards while Scott Leigh returned an interception 26 yards for another touchdown.

Chilton County 0   0   0   6   6     Homewood 21   23   0   7   51

The starters had a short night as Homewood raced to a 44-0 halftime lead. The Patriots had 316 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 431 total yards of offense. Austin Hubbard completed 8-of-9 passes for 143 yards and a 22-yard touchdown to Wilson Boardman. LaDarius Woods and Steve Freeman each scored a pair of touchdowns. The defense limited Chilton County to just 17 yards in the first half.

Homewood 21   14   10   7   52     Shelby County 0   0   0   14   14

Homewood destroyed Shelby County 52-14 on the road for win number four on the season. Once again the Patriots jumped out to a big halftime lead and coasted to the win. Quarterback Austin Hubbard only completed eight passes but four of them went for touchdowns of 63 yards to Will Cole, 19 yards to Tyler Robbins, 37 yards to Wilson Boardman and 22 yards to Tim Hawthorne. Brad Wilson returned a blocked punt 17 yards for another score.

Hueytown 0   0   0   11   11     Homewood 14   21   7   0   42

Homewood jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 42-11 win over Hueytown in the fifth game of the 2005 season. The offense rolled up 271 yards rushing and 208 yards passing in the game. Steve Freeman scored five touchdowns, four on runs of 88, 10, 3 and 68 yards and caught a scoring pass of 69 yards from Hubbard. Tim Hawthorne got in on the action with a 73-yard scoring pass.

Homewood 14   28   7   7   56     Valley 0   0   0   0   0

For the sixth straight game Homewood roared out of the starting blocks with a commanding 42-0 halftime lead as they rolled to a 56-0 win over a hapless Valley team. The Patriots had 560 yards in total offense. Quarterback Austin Hubbard was nearly flawless with 12-of-13 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns.           The defense held Valley to 35 yards rushing on 31 attempts and zero yards passing.

Homewood 14   21   7   0   42     Talladega 0   0   6   8   14

Homewood did not allow Talladega to gain a single yard in the first half as the built a 35-0 lead by intermission. Tyler Robbins rushed for a touchdown and scored another on a 74-yard pass from Austin Hubbard. Stan Galbraith scored on a 36 punt return to account for the initial touchdown. Talladega did not get on the scoreboard until the Patriots led 42-0 in the third quarter.

Briarwood 0   0   0   6   6     Homewood 7   14   7   7   35

The Patriots rolled up 263 yards rushing and Hubbard threw for 238 yards as Homewood routed Briarwood Christian 35-6 in week eight. the defense held Briarwood to minus-7 yards rushing and 129 total yards in the game. Freeman had 146 yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns, while Hubbard was 17-of-29 for 238 yards and added 60 yards rushing. Tim Hawthorne caught 10 passes for 127 yards.

Benjamin Russell 0   0   7   0   7     Homewood 14   14   10   0   38

Quarterback Austin Hubbard threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Patriots outscored Benjamin Russell 38-7 at home in week nine. The win over the 10th ranked team clinched the region championship for the Patriots. Hubbard completed 18-of-27 passes for 188 yards and ran for 62 yards on seven carries.           The defense allowed just one first down before halftime but for the first time all season the starters allowed a touchdown in the third quarter. Through the first nine games of the season, Homewood has outscored their opponents 299-2 in the first half on their games.

Homewood 7   7   3   7   24     Vestavia Hills 3   0   7   0   10

Homewood closed out the 2005 regular season with a 24-10 victory over always tough Vestavia Hills. It was consecutive win number 15 for the Patriots going back to last season. Austin Hubbard threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns while Steve Freeman rushed for 146 yards and scored once. The defense played great as usual and still has not allowed a touchdown in the first half on any game this season.

Paul Bryant 0   7   0   0   7     Homewood 7   10   7   7   31

Homewood opened the playoffs with a convincing 31-7 win over Paul Bryant of Tuscaloosa. Steve Freeman scored on a 56 yard run to get the initial touchdown and Tim Hawthorne caught a 28-yard pass from Austin Hubbard. LaDarius Woods added a 14-yard scoring run. The offense rolled up 240 yards rushing. The defense did allow their first touchdown in the first half all season on a 29-yard pass play in the second quarter.

Homewood 0   24   7   0   31     Stanhope Elmore 3   0   0   7   10

The Patriots scored 24 second quarter points as the rolled to a second round win over Stanhope Elmore by a score of 31-10. Hubbard tossed three touchdown passes of 5 yards to Will Cole, 11 yard to Tyler Robbins and 16 yards to LaDarius Woods. Steve Freeman also scored on a 1-yard run to wrap up the scoring in the third quarter.           Austin Hubbard completed 16-of-18 passes for 217 yards and Tim Hawthorne caught seven passes for 127 yards. The defense held the Mustangs to 52 yards rushing and a total of 119 yards in the game. Stanhope Elmore did not score until the outcome was already determined.

Homewood 7   8   14   7   36     St. Paul's 12   0   0   0   12

The Patriots trailed 12-6 at the end of the first quarter but bounced back to score 30 unanswered points as they overcame St. Paul's 36-12 on the road. Steve Freeman ran for 152 yards on 11 carries to lead the offense. Homewood scored first but the Saints came back on a long run by Mark Barron and after recovering a pooch kick scored again to take the early lead.           Homewood drove 61 yards in nine plays to take a 15-12 halftime lead on a 9-yard run by Freeman.

Benjamin Russell 0   7   3   7   17     Homewood 14   2   8   0   24

The Patriots held a 14-0 lead after the first period and held on for a 24-17 win over Benjamin Russell in the semi-finals of the playoffs. Benjamin Russell came back to cut the margin to 24-17 in the fourth quarter but the defense rose up to thwart the final drive and the offense ran out the clock to seal the victory.           Hubbard finished 23-of-34 for 259 yards but threw three interception. Hawthorne had 10 catches for 136 yards. The win sent the Patriots to the Super Six championships in Birmingham.

Buckhorn 0   6   0   7   13     Homewood 14   24   7   0   45

The Homewood Patriots were unstoppable against the Buckhorn Bucks as they rolled to a 45-13 win the claim the Class 5A state championship. Homewood scored on all six of their first half possessions and cruised to the win. Austin Hubbard completed 12-of-16 passes for 170 yards in the first half to pace the offense. He did not attempt a pass in the second half.            Running back Steve Freeman, who was named the game's MVP, rushed for 122 of his game-high 194 yards in the first half and scored on runs of 47, 6 and 36 yards. His first carry of the third quarter set a Super Six record for touchdowns in a game and went 72 yards. Tim Hawthorne caught five passes for 75 yards including a 15-yard touchdown.           Homewood finished with 379 yards of offense while the defense held Buckhorn to 181 yards.           Named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association first team all-state squad were quarterback Austin Hubbard, lineman David Ross, linebacker Stan Galbreith, back Steve Freeman and receiver Tim Hawthorne. Named to the honorable mention team were lineman Robert Gentry and defensive back Scott Leigh. Homewood 2005 8/26 40 Shades Valley . . . . . 2 9/2 49 Sylacauga . . . . . . . . . 9 9/9 52 Chilton County . . . . . 6 9/16 52 Shelby County . . . . . 14 9/23 42 Hueytown . . . . . . . . . . 11 9/30 56 Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/7 42 Talladega . . . . . . . . . 14 10/14 35 Briarwood . . . . . . . . . 0 10/21 38 Benjamin Russell . . . 7 10/28 24 Vestavia Hills . . . . . 10 11/4 31 Paul Bryant * . . . . . 7 11/11 31 Stanhope Elmore * . . . 10 11/18 36 St. Paul's * . . . . . . . 12 11/25 24 Benjamin Russell * . . 17 12/2 45 Buckhorn # . . . . . . . . 13 597 15-0 132 * Playoff game # State championship game

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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