Missed opportunities doom Bucs in semifinal
ALABASTER – The momentum was there for the taking early in the third quarter.
Hoover High School took possession in the red zone on each of its first two drives of the second half. But the Buccaneers came away with nothing, and it cost them.
Thompson capitalized with two touchdowns later in the period and the Warriors hung on to knock off Hoover 35-21 in the Class 7A semifinals on Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
The game was tied at 14-14 at halftime, with the teams exchanging touchdowns in the opening two periods. In the third, Hoover got the ball at the 19-yard line on a blocked punt, but threw an interception. The Bucs defense gave the ball back to the offense at the 16 with a Kory Chapman pick, but a field goal sailed wide right a few plays later.
“We get the two stops to start the third quarter and we don’t come away with any points in the red zone,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said following the game. “If we can come away with points there, then maybe we have an opportunity to grab the momentum.”
Following the missed kick, Thompson drove 80 yards in 10 plays and scored on Sawyer Pate’s third touchdown throw of the evening, a 7-yard dart to Michael Pettway in the end zone.
Thompson (11-1) extended the lead to 28-14 on the ensuing drive. Hoover marched down near the red zone once again, but this time Gavin Shipman stepped in front of a Robby Ashford throw and returned it 85 yards for the crucial score.
Hoover (10-3) didn’t throw in the towel, though. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bucs cut the deficit to 28-21 on a 20-yard strike from Ashford to freshman RJ Hamilton. Hoover was forced to punt and threw an interception on its next two drives and was never able to draw even, despite the defense forcing three consecutive punts in the final quarter.
“I thought our defense played their tails off tonight to give us an opportunity, and I thought we played well on special teams. There were times we just needed to make a few plays and we couldn’t make a play. That’s part of it,” Niblett said.
Brandon Franklin put the exclamation mark on the Thompson victory with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:15 to play.
“That’s a special group of young men,” Niblett said of his team. “Win, lose or draw, the things these kids have been through all year, the adversity that they’ve overcome to get back to this point, it says something about their character, heart and competitive greatness.”
Both quarterbacks threw three touchdowns on the night, with all of them going to a different target. Pate delivered the ball with great accuracy much of the evening, completing 22-of-31 passes for 230 yards. Ashford, the Ole Miss commit in his third game back from injury, went 17-of-40 for 298 yards.
Thompson opened the game’s scoring on its second play from scrimmage on JB Mitchell’s 22-yard reception. Mitchell was Pate’s favorite target, as he caught eight balls for 69 yards. Ryan Peppins caught a 15-yard pass from Pate in the second and finished with 71 yards on seven grabs.
Malik Thomas caught a 4-yard fade pass from Ashford to tie the game at 7-7 and running back Anthony Hayes caught a swing pass out of the backfield for a 20-yard score to even the score at 14-14. Hayes also ran for 70 yards on 12 carries.
Hamilton was the Bucs’ most explosive player on the evening, as he piled up 170 yards on his six grabs.
Hoover making it back to Warrior Stadium after a 48-30 loss to Thompson on Sept. 7 was an accomplishment, considering what the Bucs went through. Hoover had just one returning starting offensive lineman this season and no receivers with a varsity catch entering the year. On top of that, Ashford was injured in the first matchup against Thompson and was out for eight weeks, only returning two weeks ago for the beginning of the playoffs.
“There were a lot of people that thought after the third game of the season, that there may be a chance that we don’t make it to the playoffs,” Niblett said. “They’re fighters. I saw a lot of kids grow up and mature, I saw a brotherhood grow together.”
It marked the third year in a row the two programs have met in the 7A semifinals. Hoover won in 2017 and went on to claim the 7A title. Thompson prevailed last year and fell to Central-Phenix City in the championship game.
“I love these seniors, they’re a special group. This time last year, they made a decision that they were going to get back and give themselves an opportunity,” Niblett said.
This year, Thompson will once again face Central-Phenix City in the state championship game, set for Dec. 4 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
“It’s going to hurt right now, it’s going to hurt bad because they felt like they were supposed to win,” Niblett said. “They’ve got a good football team. They’re playing for the same thing.”
Click here to purchase photos from the game.