Thompson rallies to win thriller over Bucs
HOOVER – Somehow, the game lived up to the hype.
The buzz at the Hoover Met began more than two hours before kickoff, and didn’t die until the dust settled and the tail lights pulled away from Thompson High School’s 32-25 win over Hoover in a de facto Class 7A, Region 3 championship game on Friday night.
“It was awesome getting over here tonight and the crowd already being in here when we’re walking the field,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. “It’s a great high school atmosphere. This is what it’s all about. This is what you want to be a part of."
Even though Hoover (7-2, 6-1 region) came out on the short end, Bucs athletic director Andy Urban confirmed that more than 10,000 tickets were sold to the contest, and nearly the entire stadium was filled long before kickoff.
“It’s pretty special, man. I don’t think you get to experience many times like this, so that’s pretty awesome," Niblett said.
The Bucs jumped out to a 10-point lead in the second quarter, but the lead changed hands three more times before the contest concluded, the last time coming when Thompson (9-0, 7-0) put together a 14-play, 98-yard drive to go ahead 32-25 with 4:53 remaining.
Thompson quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa hit Mo Edwards on a 12-yard slant to cap off the drive, but that was the second time Edwards found the end zone on the drive.
After Hoover downed a punt inside the 2-yard line, Thompson made an aggressive call on the first play. Tagovailoa sold the fake and threw it to Edwards, who had a step on his man and took it the distance. But the play was called back for an ineligible receiver down field.
Even with the let down, the Warriors rallied and converted on third down four times in the drive.
“It breaks your heart,” Thompson head coach Mark Freeman said of the initial play being called back. “It brings it back and the kids are resilient. We take another chance and we hit it. I’m just proud. To come down to the Hoover Met and play them and hit two 90-plus yard drives, man, we’re blessed.”
The win was Thompson’s first over Hoover in program history.
“We want to have a program where one day we look up, and our program’s on the level to where Hoover is. Tonight, we got the upper hand. I just respect Hoover and their program,” Freeman said.
The momentum changes in the game seemed as often as a pendulum rocks.
Hoover answered a Thompson field goal with Larry McCammon’s 80-yard touchdown run straight up the middle on his first carry of the night to put the Bucs ahead 6-3.
McCammon put on a clinic much of the evening, as he scored three times and racked up 167 yards on just 14 carries. His 5-yard run on the first play of the second quarter gave Hoover a 13-3 edge.
“The one thing about it is, our kids played hard,” Niblett said. “We tried be physical on offense, and we did that.”
Tagovailoa was just 4-of-11 passing for 84 yards in the first half, as Hoover’s defense put pressure on him and was able to affect the game early on.
“Defensively, we played really well,” Niblett said. “You’re not going to stop them, but you’ve got to contain them. I thought we did a pretty good job of not giving up the big plays.”
Thompson’s offense has been one of the most explosive in the state all season long, and Tagovailoa rallied in the second half to finish his evening 14-of-27 passing for 226 yards.
“You’re not going to stop them, you’re going to contain them, and our guys did a good job getting them off the field on third down. A lot of people haven’t been able to do that,” Niblett said.
The tide began to turn following a Hoover turnover on Thompson’s 23-yard line in the second quarter. Thompson didn’t score on the ensuing possession, but Shadrick Byrd scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs to bookend another Hoover fumble to give the Warriors a 17-13 halftime edge.
“We’ve always been a pretty good team as far as don’t turn the ball over,” Niblett said. “We got loose with the ball, and you can’t turn the ball over. We had some drives where we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Byrd scored his third touchdown of the night on the Warriors’ initial drive of the third quarter, as he broke a tackle near the sideline and scampered 30 yards to give Thompson a 24-13 lead. He eclipsed the century mark as well, gaining 131 yards on 28 carries.
But as Thompson extended its lead, Hoover rallied. McCammon scored for the third time to cut the deficit to 24-19, and Chase Brown intercepted Tagovailoa and sprinted 65 yards down the sideline for the score, giving the Bucs a 25-24 edge with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Hoover quarterback Jalen Parker finished the night 9-of-16 for 80 yards, including a 39-yard pass to Shedrick Jackson early in the second quarter. Jackson beat his defender and made a diving grab.
The game was a precursor to what could be a potential state semifinal preview, but the Bucs still have a big game remaining on the regular season docket against IMG Academy out of Bradenton, Florida.
“We’ve got IMG next week so we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Niblett said. “We’ll regroup and our guys will be ready to play next week.”