The Vestavia Hills High School football team opened its 2025 season with a dominant performance.

The Rebels routed visiting Westside, last year’s South Carolina Class AAAA runner-up, 49-7 win — a stark contrast to starting last season 0-3.

“I thought we came out really fast and that was kind of the message,” said Rebels’ head coach Robert Evans. “We were going to take the ball and try to impose our will early, and I thought we did that.”

Quarterback Charlie Taaffe threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 96 yards on the ground and two more scores.

His top target was Grayson Harper, who caught three passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

All of Taaffe’s and Harper’s touchdowns came in the first half, helping the Rebels build a 42-7 lead at the break.

This was the first

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