Bucs stave off Hewitt-Trussville in overtime
HOOVER -- Bennett Meredith prayed. Then the Hoover High School defensive player who closest resembles Alabama star linebacker Will Anderson came out and made the biggest play of the season — with the smallest portion of his left hand — to keep the Bucs’ dream for a Class 7A state championship alive.
Terrell Jones got a fingertip on Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Cade Carruth’s pass intended for Jordan McCants on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime, right after the Huskies had scored to equal Hoover’s touchdown on its first try. The deflected pass then went off McCants and hit the ground, and the Bucs (12-0) celebrated a 24-23 quarterfinal win over the Huskies (9-3) at the Hoover Met.
“I was outside and ran through it and tipped it a little bit with my left hand,” said the 6-foot-3 Jones. “I made it hit towards the ground. He tried to dive and it just came out of his hands on the ground.”
The game went to overtime tied at 17-all, after Hewitt-Trussville couldn’t get a score on its last possession of regulation. On third and 10, Bennett Meredith found RJ Hamilton for a touchdown, and Peyton Argent’s extra point gave the Bucs a 24-17 lead.
Hoover was called for pass interference on Hewitt’s first play, and then James Hammonds scored from 5 yards out. The Huskies offense stayed on the field and then Hoover head coach Josh Niblett called timeout. Moments later, the Bucs had clinched the win.
The Huskies, though, were going for it all instead of kicking an extra point.
“We came here to win the game,” Hewitt-Trussville coach Josh Floyd said. “We’d do the same thing again if we had the opportunity. It just didn’t work out.”
The game was back and forth, though maybe not as high-scoring as one would have thought. That’s because both defenses stepped up. Hoover held a 7-6 lead at halftime, answering a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hewitt’s Carruth to Omari Kelly and missed extra point with a 1-yard touchdown run by Sky Niblett.
Hoover went ahead 14-6 in the third with a 3-yard touchdown run by Ahamari Williams. Hewitt-Trussville came back, getting a 37-yard field goal in the third from C.J. Curtis and then a 23-yard touchdown pass from Carruth to Matt Miller, and the two-point play from Carruth to Ryan Shoop.
Hoover tied it at 17 when Argent hit a 27-yard field goal, and gave Hewitt-Trussville more than 3 minutes left with its final possession, but the Huskies could not get it close enough to try a field goal and Corey Warren sacked Carruth to send it to overtime.
“We made some plays in the end to give us an opportunity to win the game,” Niblett said. “That’s what you’ve got to do when your back’s against the wall. Bow up and figure a way to get a score, then get a stop.”
Hoover’s Meredith completed 23-of-37 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Hamilton caught nine balls for 103 yards and a score. Hoover players didn’t feel like they played their best, and could have gotten an early touchdown but Hewitt-Trussville’s defense stepped up, stopping the Bucs three times inside the 2-yard line including on a fourth and goal at the 1.
“This was not our best game of the season,” Hoover safety Paul Thompson said. “I feel like we could have come out a lot better. I feel like we got kind of complacent in this game. We were kind of looking forward, and they came out and punched us in the mouth.”
Hewitt played two quarterbacks in Carruth and Peyton Floyd. It was Carruth who led all the three touchdown drives, and the two in regulation were 99-yard drives. He completed 17-of-25 passes for 185 yards with an interception and a touchdown, and Floyd went 4-of-6 for 67 yards. Omari Kelly caught nine balls for 95 yards and McCants had five catches for 91 yards.
Now, it’ll be a rematch between Hoover and Thompson. Since the Bucs won 24-21 in the teams’ last regular season game, Hoover will host as it won the area.
“We’ve got to reset,” Meredith said. “We’re going to play our football. That’s what we do best. We’re going to change a little bit for their looks but at the end of the day, we’re going to do what we do best and they’ve got to stop it.”