Hoover girls to open basketball season today
The Hoover High volleyball team, coached by Chris Camper, finished as state runner-up to Mountain Brook on Thursday at CrossPlex in Birmingham. It is the best finish in the school's history. Ironically, Hoover had beaten Mountain Brook twice during the regular season, but couldn't put the Lady Spartans away this time. Named to the all-tournament team from Hoover were Kathryn Cather and Ali Lowe. Hoover had advanced to the final by beating Enterprise and McGill-Toolen. It was the first time two Birmingham area teams had squared off in the final, leading Camper to say he is optimistic that the balance of power has shifted somewhat from Huntsville to Birmingham.
The Hoover Buccaneers closed out the regular football season by beating previously unbeaten Blackman High of Murfreesboro, Tenn., 35-20 at the Hoover Met on Friday in a game televised locally by WABM MY 68. Blackman was rated as the No. 2 team in Class 6A in Tennessee. The Bucs (8-2), ranked No. 1 in Class 7A, host Buckhorn (6-4) in a first-round playoff game in a Bucs vs. Bucks battle. Tickets are $8 and there is no reserved seating per AHSAA rules.
The Hoover boys and girls cross country teams will be competing in the state championships at Oakvillle Indian Mounds Park and Museum near Moulton on Saturday. The girls 7A race is at 11:10 a.m. and the boys 7A race is at 12:10 p.m. Admission is $10.
The Hoover girls open the basketball season on Friday by hosting the Big Orange Tip-Off Tournament. Hoover will open with Buckhorn at 6 p.m. -- ironic, since the football teams from the same schools will be meeting in the football playoffs down the road at the Hoover Met an hour later. Lee of Montgomery, Selma, Loachapoka, Sparkman, Jeff Davis and Clay-Chalkville are also playing Friday. Play continues Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. The third-place game will be at 2 p.m. with the championship game at 3:30 p.m.
The Spain Park boys and girls basketball teams open the season with home games Thursday. The girls will face Midfield at 6 p.m. and the boys take on Hueytown at 7:30 p.m.
The Spain Park football team closed out the season with a 30-7 win over Bessemer City to finish the season with a 6-4 record. Coach Shawn Raney said he believes the Jaguars were playing their best football at season's end, but the Jags were locked out of the playoffs as Hewitt-Trussville's win over Spain Park broke a tiebreaker. Hewitt, Spain Park and Mountain Brook finished in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, but since both the Huskies and Jags had beaten Mountain Brook, eliminating the Spartans, it came down to the head-to-head tiebreaker between the Huskies and Jags, and Hewitt's 64-63 four-overtime win was the decisive factor.
Shades Mountain Christian dropped its season finale 25-6 to Spring Garden, ending its football season with a 1-9 record. Billy Parker scored the Eagles' touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Shades Mountain Christian's Dylan Pausic took first place in the Class 1A-2A cross country sectionals with a time of 16:08:0.