Photos by Barry Stephenson
Hoover Football Oak Mountain Football
Hoover's Vonte' Brackett (5) runs past Oak Mountain's Jalen Thomas (22) for a nice gain during a game between Oak Mountain and Hoover on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at the Hoover Met in Hoover.
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. Here is the fifth installment. If you missed last week's edition, click here.
FOOTBALL
The Hoover and Spain Park high school football teams notched important Class 7A, Region 3 wins on Friday night.
The Bucs laid the hammer on Oak Mountain, defeating the Eagles, 59-7. Hoover rolled up 375 yards on the ground and scored seven rushing touchdowns. Read the full recap of the game here.
The Jags struggled in the first half against Huffman, but a strong second half propelled Spain Park to a 35-26 win over the Vikings. Click here for a recap of the game.
Hoover travels to Huffman this week, while Spain Park hosts unbeaten Thompson.
VOLLEYBALL
Coming off the Over the Mountain Tournament win, the Hoover High School volleyball team extended its winning streak to 10 with a pair of Class 7A, Area 5 match wins during the week.
On Tuesday, the Bucs swept Thompson, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-19), as Paige Shaw racked up 12 kills, nine digs, four aces and a block. Jamie Gregg tallied 30 assists and five digs, while Caroline Raybon added four kills, three aces and two blocks.
The Bucs swept Vestavia Hills on Thursday, winning 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22). Paige Shaw had 23 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and an ace. Jamie Gregg racked up 37 assists, 20 digs and two kills. Savannah Gibbs led the defense with 24 digs.
Hoover hosts a pair of matches this week, as it will play Mountain Brook Tuesday and Spain Park Thursday, before taking part in Homewood’s Margaret Blalock Tournament over the weekend.
Spain Park played a pair of mid-week matches and in the Tournament of Champions at Danville over the weekend. The Jags began the week by defeating Vestavia Hills, 3-1 (25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 25-23) on Tuesday and beat Clay-Chalkville by the same 3-1 margin (25-20, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22) on Thursday.
Over the weekend, Spain Park went 4-1 in the Danville Tournament of Champions, falling to Carbon Hill in the semifinals.
The Jags host Tuscaloosa County on Tuesday for senior night and travel to Hoover on Thursday.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover girls cross-country team won its fourth meet of the season on Saturday at the Disney Classic in Orlando, Florida. Participating in the large school division, the Bucs bested runner-up Beavercreek (Ohio), 98-127.
Hoover placed three runners in the top 20 and five in the top 30 to secure the title. Senior Sydney Steely paved the way by placing 10th in the 5K race with a time of 19 minutes, 58 seconds. She was trailed by fellow senior Ava Weems (16th, 20:18) and junior Emma Langley (19th, 20:26). Haley Stallworth (26th, 20:34) and Caroline Sall (27th, 20:38) rounded out the front-running contingent.
The Bucs are undefeated on the season, having also captured team titles at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational, Spain Park Cross Country Classic and Oak Mountain Invitational.
The Hoover boys, meanwhile, placed fourth in the large school division at Disney. Senior John McCrackin finished fourth individually to lead the team. He completed the 5K course in 16:52. Senior Alex Leary (11th, 17:19) and junior Drew Kilgore (24th, 17:43) also notched top finishes.
Spain Park stayed closer to home over the weekend, as the Jaguars competed at the Jesse Owens Classic in Oakville. Sophomore Charlie Trower posted a 17th-place showing in the gold division boys race with a personal-best time 16:21. The Spain Park boys finished 18th in the team standings.
Berry Middle School eighth-grader MacKenzie Culpepper was the top finisher for the Jaguar girls, who competed in the silver division. She placed fifth in 19:43. Sophomore Holland Lidikay placed 10th in 20:00 to help the team secure third place.
Both the Hoover and Spain Park cross-country teams are scheduled to return to action on Thursday at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
Former Buc and current Baltimore Raven Marlon Humphrey registered three tackles in the Ravens’ 30-17 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Several former Hoover football players had solid performances on Saturday. Wisconsin running back Bradrick Shaw racked up 43 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in the Badgers' win over Nebraska. Bowling Green’s Kholbe Coleman-Abrams racked up three tackles against Miami (Ohio). North Alabama freshman Christon Taylor intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards against Florida Tech.
-- Who did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
