Bucs dominate Tuscaloosa County

Photos by Ted Melton at ActionSportsPix.SmugMug.com

Photos by Ted Melton at ActionSportsPix.SmugMug.com

If Hoover fans were concerned about a letdown in the playoff rematch against Tuscaloosa County, their fears were quickly put to rest.  The only thing down in Hoover was the temperature, as the Hoover Bucs outscored the thermometer with a 42-7 whipping of the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats.

The Bucs jumped all over the Wildcats, leading 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. 

For Hoover Bucs coach Josh Niblett, the goal was to maintain the intensity of the last several weeks. “You’re either going forward or you’re going backward; you’re never standing still in football, or in life.”

Bradrick Shaw, the All-American running back, commenced the scoring with a 31-yard touchdown to give Hoover a 7-0 lead. 

After a sack by another Hoover All-American, Christian Bell, Tuscaloosa County punted the ball back to the Bucs. Shortly afterward, the Bucs’ other outstanding back, Marcus Webb, scampered for a 40-yard score to give Hoover a 14-0 lead.

By the end of the first quarter, Hoover added a 53-yard Leonard Wood touchdown and three more sacks en route to a 21-0 lead.

Things would only get worse for the Wildcats, who had arrived in Hoover on the heels of a monumental upset win over heavily favored Bob Jones last week.

The Bucs scored two more times, including the second touchdown by Webb, to reach a 35-0 advantage at intermission.

Hoover’s famously loyal fans, uninhibited by miserable weather, kept the home field advantage alive during the second half of the blowout. The Bucs took their foot off the accelerator in the third and fourth quarters, scoring on a 9-yard Jaylen Richardson touchdown and allowing one score by the Wildcats.

Next week, the Bucs face Gadsden City in the semifinal round of the Alabama Class 7A playoffs.