Tenth-ranked Vestavia Hills rode its fast-paced offense to a 52-10 road win against No. 9 Austin in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.

Junior quarterback John Paul Head ran for four touchdowns as the Rebels led 31-0 at halftime at Austin Football Field in Decatur. William Carter Shirley accounted for the other points with a 26-yard field goal.

Vestavia Hills (7-4) added three more touchdown runs in the second half: Jordan Skrabo, 4 yards; William Cox, 8; and Bruce Littleton, 9.

The Rebels’ lone punt came in the fourth quarter.

“It’s awesome for these seniors,” Head said. “First year for Coach (Robert) Evans and he gets his first playoff win.”

Added Evans: “Our style and our pace of play is difficult to simulate in practice. And when our quarterback plays well, we’re difficult to stop and he played well tonight.”

The Black Bears (7-4) scored on Kenneth Joshua’s 35-yard run and Ruben Guevara’s 20-yard field goal.

Star of the game: Head had 17 carries for 63 yards and touchdowns from 1, 7, 2 and 1. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 268 yards.

Play of the game: On the opening possession, the Rebels faced fourth down from the Austin 46. They faked a punt and completed a 31-yard pass for a first down on the Austin 15.

Key sequence: Head’s 1-yard touchdown capped the opening drive that covered 51 yards in six plays.

Stat sheet: Vestavia Hills – Keown Richardson had five catches for 110 yards. Austin – De’Air Young completed 10 of 19 passes for 134 yards with one interception. He had nine carries for 40 yards.

By the numbers: 515 – Vestavia Hills’ total offense with 200 rushing and 315 passing. 236 – Austin’s total offense (102 rushing, 134 passing). 2 – Austin turnovers (muffed kick and an interception). 5 – wins for the Rebels in five games against the Black Bears all-time.

Coachspeak: “We’re just trying to play fast and I think we can play faster. We’re eight months into this offense and we have wrinkles every week.” – Evans.

“We got outplayed in every phase of the game. I’m proud of the season we’ve had. Nothing can take away the accomplishments of these young men.” – Austin coach Jeremy Perkins.

They said it: “Just worked really fast on offense. Get their defense tired quickly.” – Head.

“I think it’s really all coaching. We switched up a lot of our techniques and the way we run plays. And I think just practicing these techniques is what let us dominate them.” Vestavia Hills center Mitch Taylor.

“I think we came out really hot tonight. Defensively came out faster than last week.” Vestavia Hills inside linebacker Houston Owen.

“We just didn’t come out ready to play. When we got out there, everybody was second guessing. We just weren’t playing like us, for real.” – Young.

“They came out more physical than us.” – Austin corner/safety Charles Perry II.

What’s next: In the 7A second round, Vestavia Hills visits third-ranked Thompson (8-3).