Bucs suffer first region loss at Hewitt-Trussville
TRUSSVILLE – The Bucs don’t plan on getting accustomed to what took place on Friday night.
Hewitt-Trussville High School started strong and never relented, downing Hoover 56-28 on Friday night in a Class 7A, Region 3 contest.
“It’s one of those nights,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. “We’re not used to this and we’re not going to get used to this. We’ve got to get better. They played more physical than we did tonight, they outcoached us and they outplayed us.”
Hewitt-Trussville (3-1) piled up 604 yards on offense, with 352 of those coming from a dominant rushing attack from start to finish. Huskies sophomore running back Armoni Goodwin ran off tackle repeatedly with great success, finishing with 255 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.
“They had a great plan tonight. They did a really good job, we just couldn’t get off the field defensively,” said Niblett.
The Bucs were coming off a big 45-26 win over Thompson last week to open region action.
Following George Pickens’ 47-yard touchdown reception to open the scoring for Hoover, Hewitt-Trussville scored five of the next six touchdowns to open up a 35-14 edge at halftime. Hewitt got scoring runs from Antonio Reed, Cameron Bledsoe and Goodwin before a pair of big pass plays sent the Huskies into the break with a sizeable lead.
Hoover quarterback Robby Ashford won the race to the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the Huskies lead to 21-14. But on the second play of the next drive, Huskies quarterback Paul Tyson hit Auburn commit Ja’Varrius Johnson on a quick pass. Johnson used his blazing speed to go untouched to the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown. On Hewitt’s next possession, Tyson hit fellow Alabama commit Dazalin Worsham for a 41-yard score.
Johnson wrapped up the evening with 152 yards on four grabs, while Worsham had 78 yards on six catches. Tyson didn’t have to throw much, but was efficient when he did. He completed 14-of-18 passes for 252 yards.
Hoover (2-2) charged back in the third quarter, as Larry McCammon scored both of his touchdowns on back-to-back drives with runs of 24 and 3 yards, respectively. Myles Spurling forced and recovered a fumble to set up the second score. McCammon finished his night with 120 yards on 18 carries.
With the deficit quickly cut to 35-28, Hoover had all the momentum.
Niblett said, “I thought our kids challenged each other in the locker room at halftime and I thought our kids responded well.”
The Bucs forced another punt with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, but the first play of that possession “broke their back,” according to Niblett.
On that play, Ashford attempted a short pass over the middle, but Hewitt defensive lineman Eric Taylor timed his jump perfectly. The ball stuck in his arms, and he rumbled 10 yards into the end zone to make it 42-28. The Huskies added a pair of scores in the final quarter to seal the deal.
“They make a play, like good teams do, and they were able to bow their back when we were one score down and go back up two scores,” Niblett said.
In the fourth quarter, Goodwin set up his second touchdown of the night with a 45-yard run and scored from 8 yards out three plays later. The Huskies ate up the rest of the clock with a grinding 15-play drive, capped off by Goodwin’s 1-yard score.
Ashford struggled after completing his first four passes in the game. The junior completed 8-of-23 passes for 139 yards. Pickens was his favorite target, catching five of those balls for 130 yards.
Hoover now sits at 1-1 in region play and gets a chance to rebound at Oak Mountain next Friday.
“We’ve got to keep our unity over self like we’ve always talked about. Now more than anything, it’s going to come into play,” Niblett said.
To purchase photos from the game, click here.