Bucs nudge past James Clemens, advance to state semifinal
Hoover High School head football coach Josh Niblett had one objective on Friday night: Win the fight.
His Bucs carried out the order.
In a slugfest between two of the state’s stingiest defenses, Hoover (10-2) made plays when it needed to secure a 14-7 victory over James Clemens in the Class 7A state quarterfinal at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
With the win, Hoover advances to next week’s state semifinal, where the Bucs will face Gadsden City.
“In big time games, you’ve got to play big time. You’ve got to concentrate big time, and I thought our kids were locked in,” Niblett said. “What an awesome opportunity for us to get back to the semis.”
Friday’s matchup was expected to be a battle of attrition, and it lived up to its billing.
Hoover limited James Clemens to 146 yards of total offense and six first downs. James Clemens, in turn, limited Hoover to 208 yards of total offense and eight first downs.
Unable to generate much offense, the teams combined for 19 punts, 15 of which capped drives that resulted in three-and-outs.
“You don’t get style points in the playoffs,” Niblett said. “You get points for winning the football game, whether it's 1-0, 14-7 or a high-scoring game.”
Hoover jumped on the board first at 11:02 in the second quarter when junior running back Vonte’ Brackett rushed for a 6-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. Brackett took the handoff from quarterback Garrett Farquhar and bounced it around left end. He then outraced a pair of Jets defenders before diving full extension to reach the ball over the front pylon.
“It was big for momentum, big for everything,” Brackett said. “That was just something to get us started through the whole game.”
The TD was set up by two big plays: a 30-yard Cortez Hall punt return and a 40-yard passing completion from Farquhar to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson. On the first snap after Hall’s return, Jackson outleaped his defender and came down with a difficult grab that positioned Hoover with first-and-goal at the 5.
Brackett’s run and a Barret Pickering PAT made it 7-0 Hoover. That’s where the score remained until 9:30 in the third quarter, when the Bucs made a key play on defense.
Hoover defensive back Will Singleton scooped and scored on a 15-yard fumble return. James Clemens had started its drive at its own 8-yard line and hadn’t gained much ground when a Jets’ ballcarrier was stripped.
Singleton found himself in the right place at the right time, and the touchdown extended Hoover’s lead to 14-0.
“You’ve got to help yourself make plays in different parts of the game,” Niblett said.
James Clemens trimmed Hoover’s lead to 14-7 at 2:09 in the third quarter. The Jets’ Montavian Rice-Jordan copied Singleton’s scoring scamper when he scooped up a blocked Pickering punt and returned it 18 yards for a TD.
The blocked punt portended what turned into a flurry of uncharacteristic special teams woes for the usually reliable Pickering.
In the fourth quarter, he missed field goals of 37 and 43 yards, keeping it a one-possession game.
But the Bucs defense held strong in the final frame.
Hoover defensive back Jayden Jordan snagged a leaping interception that terminated one drive, and the collective unit forced a pair of punts that ended the Jets’ other two possessions.
After making critical stops, Hoover’s offense controlled the ball for the final three minutes of game time. Running back C.J. Sturdivant sealed the win with a 29-yard rush to the Jets’ 10-yard line with just over a minute remaining.
The game ended with Hoover set up in its victory formation, an alignment the Bucs hope they'll be able to repeat around the same time next Friday.
Hoover will travel to Gadsden City next week, as the Titans upset previously unbeaten Hewitt-Trussville. On the line will be a spot in the state final.
“We’ve got to prepare in a way that we’ve never prepared before so we’re ready to play,” Niblett said.