Hoover to play Spain Park Thursday

The Hoover Buccaneers and the Spain Park Jaguars meet on the football field for the first time since 2011 on Thursday night. It’s a rare Thursday night game, and was moved to accommodate television. The Raycom series of Thursday night high school football games picked this game before the season. It will air in Birmingham on WBRC’s alternate channel, BRC 6.2. The Bucs (3-2, 3-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 7A, lead Region 3 after recovering from tough losses against out-of-state powers Miami (Fla.) Central and Colquitt County (Ga.). They’ve won three straight region games. The Jags (3-2, 1-2), ranked No. 10, have lost two in a row in region play after a strong start. Hoover leads the all-time series 11-1 in the books (due to a forfeit) and 12-0 on the field. Tickets are available online at the Spain Park High website, at the Hoover High athletic office (until 4 p.m. Thursday) and at Bryant Bank locations on Alabama 150 and U.S. 280 in Greystone (until 5 p.m. Thursday). Tickets are $7. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Jaguar Stadium.

Shades Mountain Christian (1-4, 0-3) hosts Wadley (4-1, 2-0) in a Class 1A, Region 5 game Friday at 7 p.m.

Spain Park High will host the annual Dig in the Park volleyball tournament Friday and Saturday. The strong 16-team tournament includes host Spain Park, Hoover, Oak Mountain, Hewitt-Trussville, Homewood, Chelsea, Walker, John Carroll Catholic, Calera, Curry, Briarwood Christian, Mountain Brook, Sparkman, Pelham, McAdory and Helena. A tournament pass that covers both days is $10 while a single-day pass is $6. Children 10 and younger are admitted at no charge.