Bucs smother Tuscaloosa County
NORTHPORT – “Hunt the Cats” read the orange paint on signs inside Wildcat Stadium on the first Thursday in October. The Hoover High School secondary did just that, holding Tuscaloosa County to 31 passing yards and returning two interceptions for touchdowns in a 44-7 win in Class 7A, Region 3 action.
“We’ve had to piece some things together at times, but I’ve been proud of our guys being resilient and relentless every day and understanding this guy or that guy has to step up and make plays,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. “Tonight was about coming and playing together as a brotherhood and having some energy. I told the D, I wanted us to have two or three takeaways and we had two pick-sixes and another one. Our guys continue to peak and we want to continue to peak every week.”
Quarterback Josh Lundy returned from injury and marched Hoover down the field for a 71-yard scoring drive on its first series of the game. Lundy, who was 4-of-5 passing on the drive, hit Ray Hampton on a touchdown pass from the 6-yard line. It was the only offensive touchdown in the first half for the Bucs, who possessed the ball for only a third of the first two quarters.
The Bucs’ defense was shutting down the run and passing game early, as Kory Chapman intercepted a pass at the 35 and streaked into the end zone for a 13-0 lead with 6:30 to play in the first quarter. Two plays later, he nearly did it again on the opposite sideline, dropping a potential interception and helping force a three-and-out.
With a short field, Hoover moved into the red zone in four plays on its next series, but a pair of penalties helped stall the drive, leading to a 27-yard field goal by Constantine Hontzas.
Tuscaloosa County’s Damien Taylor, who had been held to 1 or 2 yards per carry on his first seven attempts, broke through the Bucs’ line to score T-County’s only touchdown of the night from 80 yards out, making it 16-7.
A fumble on the next Hoover series helped give Tuscaloosa County momentum, but Josh Smith gave the Bucs’ defense its second pick-six of the game when the linebacker returned a Connor White interception 41 yards for a score to make it 23-7. Two plays later, Chapman came up with a fumble, but Lundy threw an interception in the end zone, making it four combined turnovers in five minutes of action.
“They had the long touchdown and had momentum, but defensive turnovers change momentum. We stopped it and kept putting our foot on their throat and kept rolling,” Chapman said.
The turnovers kept the Hoover defense on the field for nearly 16 minutes in the first half, but the offense controlled the clock in the second half.
“(Tuscaloosa County) had been showing a lot of man (coverage) this year, but played a lot of zone tonight. We were able to make some adjustments and able to get some things going with our RPOs (run-pass options) and our run solutions to give the quarterback some options and let our O-line play up front,” Niblett said.
Lundy carved up the Wildcats defense in the third quarter to finish 16-of-20 for 149 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in three weeks. He converted a fourth-down pass to Jamari Buye early in the third quarter to set up an Anthony Hayes 4-yard touchdown run. Less than a minute later, Lundy got the ball back and built a seven-minute, 72-yard scoring drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass to RJ Hamilton to give Hoover a 30-point lead, 37-7, entering the fourth quarter.
“The biggest thing for him was to get hit a little bit and make some plays, and he did make some plays. He made a huge third down play on the first drive and made a big throw on the read he made on the double move down on the goal line to give us our first score,” Niblett said.
Evan Reeder, who led the offense during Lundy’s injury in September, played the fourth quarter, capping the night with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Hampton.
Hoover (5-1, 3-1 in region) will return home to the Hoover Met next Friday, Oct. 11, to host cross-town rival Spain Park.
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