Bucs survive, advance to 2nd round
HOOVER - In the playoffs, it’s about surviving and advancing.
The Hoover High School football team did that on Friday with a 26-18 Class 7A playoff win over Bob Jones, but Bucs head coach Josh Niblett was not pleased.
The Bucs (8-3) overcame a 10-6 halftime deficit, but gave up a fumble return for a score with 13 seconds left and had to recover an onside kick to seal it. More importantly, Hoover committed 15 penalties for 190 yards.
“We just didn’t play very disciplined tonight,” Niblett said. “We got caught up in all the jawing back and forth and all the extra-curricular stuff. We had a little bit of a problem with it during the year, and I told our guys time and time again that if we don’t get it fixed, it’s going to cost us.”
Bob Jones (6-5) was flagged 12 times for 116 yards. Most penalties on both sides were personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. With an AHSAA rule of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties leading to an ejection, it’s surprising that both teams didn’t lose any players.
Quarterback Robby Ashford said that the Bucs’ emotions got too high and they didn’t handle heat-of-the-moment situations well.
“We just came out in the second half and played with a different energy, but by far, I think it was one of our worst performances of the year,” Ashford said.
It started rough for Hoover as Bob Jones recovered an onside kick to start the game and scored a touchdown after a short drive.
Hoover had two drives in the first half but settled for field goals from Will Reichard. The Bucs made a late second-quarter stand to keep the halftime score at 10-6, forcing a field goal instead of a touchdown after Bob Jones connected on a long pass play.
“We kind of underestimated them, I’m not going to lie,” Hoover receiver George Pickens said. “In practice, we were working hard, but we weren’t taking stuff (as serious) as if it were playing Thompson. We came out here and they were physical and we weren’t expecting that.”
But Hoover scored three times in the second half to take control. Larry McCammon scored on a 3-yard run, Ashford hit Pickens on a 16-yard touchdown pass, and Dylan Pauly scored on a 9-yard run with 5:48 left.
As Hoover was trying to run the clock out, Bob Jones’ Khalil Griffin picked up a fumble and scored from 60 yards out. The two-point conversion connected, but the ensuing kickoff for the Patriots did not work to their favor, allowing Hoover to seal the win.
Twice, Hoover was penalized for 30 yards. Jabari Moore had a key fourth-quarter interception, and Hoover was hit with two 15-yard penalties following the play. The Bucs did score after that sequence.
Hoover was also hit with a 15-yard penalty on the Bob Jones fumble return for a touchdown and a 10-yard defensive holding penalty on the two-point try. The Patriots were able to kick off there at the Hoover 35, but the Bucs recovered.
Hoover, the 7A, Region 3 champion, did enough to win against the Region 4 fourth-place team -- which was playing with a backup quarterback and without its star University of Florida commitment in defensive back Jaydon Hill -- but it may not be so easy going forward if the Bucs don’t get it fixed.
Region rival Mountain Brook comes to town next Friday for a second-round matchup. Hoover beat the Spartans 31-7 just two weeks ago.
“I’m embarrassed because I know we’re better than that,” Niblett said. “There’s a standard on how we play by and it’s not just that you win, but it’s how we win, and I didn’t like the way we won tonight. I’ve got to do a better job next week because if we want to have a chance to win, we’ve got to be more disciplined.”