TCI Sports/Barry Stephenson
Hoover Football
Hoover's Kam Ford (2) in a game between Hoover and Thompson on Friday, October 21, 2016, at Larry Simmons Stadium in Alabaster, Alabama.
The Hoover High School football team is set to be in the national spotlight once again.
Friday at 7 p.m., the Bucs will host Grayson High School from Loganville, Georgia, at the Hoover Met in front of several thousand fans and many more not at the game, as the inter-state showdown between two top-flight high school football programs is set to be televised live nationally on ESPNU.
Hoover head coach Josh Niblett is impressed by what he’s seen from the Rams on tape.
“They’re very athletic, big and fast,” Niblett said. “And offensively they give you everything from the wing-T to the spread.”
Grayson is the second opponent outside of the state of Alabama the Bucs have opposed this season, as Hoover traveled to Texas early in the season to play Allen High School in Texas as part of the Tom Landry Classic. Grayson enters the game 7-1 and has been obliterating opponents recently, outscoring its last five foes by a combined 240-12.
Hoover (8-1, 7-0 Class 7A, Region 3) wrapped up a perfect region record with a 20-0 win over Thompson last week, as the offense struggled early but the defense hardly bent at all.
But while their offense sputtered, the Bucs defense stood strong. They forced four Thompson turnovers — a pair of fumbles in the second quarter and two interceptions late in the game, the latter of which was a 64-yard pick-six by Will Singleton with 1:18 before the final whistle.
“I’m kind of glad we faced some adversity tonight, because we need to face it to get ready for the playoffs,” Niblett said following the game. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot in the red zone…. We’ve just got to do a better job with discipline.”
The Bucs scored their lone offensive touchdown on the third play after halftime, when on third down and 4 from their own 36, quarterback Garrett Farquhar threw a bomb to Shedrick Jackson, who pulled the ball down in coverage and dashed the rest of the way for the score.
Thompson only ventured past the midfield stripe into Hoover territory three times, two of which ended in turnovers.
C.J. Sturdivant led the Bucs rushing attack with 79 yards on 16 carries. Farquhar completed 10 of 24 passes for 128 yards.
Hoover has now allowed double digits in just one of its nine games this season, a 25-7 loss to Allen. In its eight wins, the Bucs are allowing an average of just 6.25 points per game.
The Bucs do not yet know their first-round playoff opponent yet, and will find out following tonight’s action. They will host the No. 4 seed from Region 4 next week. A three-way tie exists for second place between Bob Jones, James Clemens and Gadsden City.
- Robert Carter contributed to this story.