Bucs cruise past Sparkman in opening round
HOOVER -- DJ Estes thought his days of scoring touchdowns were long gone, but he got a flashback to his offensive days as a youngster with an interception return for a touchdown early in Hoover High School’s 56-14 rout of Sparkman in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
The No. 1 Bucs (11-0) advanced to play either Hewitt-Trussville or Bob Jones next Friday.
Estes, a junior linebacker, made his big play just 1:50 into the game on Sparkman’s third offensive play. Following a sack by Corey Warren back to the 3-yard line, Estes made his interception on a third and long at the 12 and coasted into the end zone.
Estes said he played running back growing up before moving to linebacker as a freshman for the Bucs.
“I was just a free player in our coverage,” Estes said. “It was a go play with instincts. That’s what I did. The QB indicator took me to the right and I went to the right. Pick six, and I took it to the crib.”
Teammate RJ Hamilton, who had a big game at the receiver spot, noticed that Estes “tried to get that little running back vision back.”
“That set the tone right there,” Hamilton said. “Once that happened, we already knew what type of game it was going to be. We were firing on all cylinders.”
It was absolutely that type of game for the Bucs against the undermanned Senators (4-7). Hoover scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and two more before half to go ahead 42-0. Sparkman’s two touchdowns came with its starting offense against Hoover’s deep reserves. The Bucs intercepted Sparkman quarterback Luke Schomburg twice and kept the pressure on him all throughout the first half.
“The biggest thing for us was starting off fast,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said. “We got a turnover on D (defense) early on and played well for the most part, and got to play a lot of guys in a great atmosphere.”
Hoover’s offensive skill trio of quarterback Bennett Meredith, running back Ahamari Williams and Hamilton at receiver all had big nights. Meredith completed 9-of-14 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Williams rushed six times for 105 yards and two scores, and had a 27-yard reception to set up a score. Hamilton caught five balls for 112 yards, including touchdown receptions of 42 and 21 yards from Meredith.
Williams’ 57-yard rushing score was on Hoover’s first offensive play. He added a 12-yard rushing touchdown, and Sky Niblett had a 3-yard scoring run in the first half.
Hoover’s second-half touchdowns came on a 45-yard run from Lamarion McCammon and a 26-yard pass from Evan Reeder to Josh Giddens.
The Bucs outgained the Senators 436-222, and 91 of Sparkman’s yards came on its final drive of the game.
“I feel like we came out and we were focused,” Estes said. “We did everything we said we were going to do this week and we just came out and balled.”