Sarah Finnegan
Patrick Palmore (23) fends off Grayson players during a game between Hoover and Grayson (Ga.) on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, at Grayson Community Stadium in Loganville, Ga.
Friday night provides a chance for the Hoover High School football team to prove the old adage true: The biggest gains are made between the first and second games of the season.
At 7 p.m. at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the Bucs (0-1) will take on a team from across state lines for the second straight week, as they will host Meridian (Mississippi).
Meridian marks the second of three teams from bordering states that Hoover will play this season. Last week, the Bucs fell 35-26 to Grayson (Georgia). Hoover rounds out the regular season on Nov. 3 by hosting IMG Academy (Florida).
Playing teams hailing from outside the state of Alabama is nothing new for Hoover, which traveled to Allen (Texas) last year and hosted Grayson at the end of the regular season.
Regardless of the opponent, the Bucs will need to play better from the jump to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2014. With a similar schedule, Hoover lost to Miami Central (Florida) and Colquitt County (Georgia) to begin the season, before ripping off 12 straight wins to capture the state crown.
Last Friday at Grayson, Hoover fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter after the Rams struck quickly on their first two possessions of the evening. Hoover’s offense struggled to gain much traction early, but a pair of Barret Pickering field goals helped the Bucs make it 14-6 at halftime.
“We didn’t start off fast enough,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said following the game. “But I thought our kids showed some resilience. There’s no doubt we played hard, but we made some mistakes, had some costly penalties on some drives that cost us a little bit.”
Hoover fell behind 21-6 as Grayson scored on the opening drive of the second half. Then Larry McCammon took over. The junior running back finished with 103 yards on 13 carries. The final of his three touchdowns midway through the fourth quarter cut Grayson’s lead to 28-26.
The Bucs’ two-point try failed, as quarterback Jalen Parker’s pass fell incomplete. Even as the Hoover defense – which has several new faces – buckled down and put together three consecutive stops, the Bucs’ could never get closer.
Parker, a senior, was making his first start under center after taking over for Garrett Farquhar, who led the Bucs’ offense to the state title last fall. Niblett never announced a starting quarterback prior to the season opener, but Parker was the incumbent, having backed up Farquhar for all of 2016.
Parker finished 16-of-33 for 288 yards, and Niblett was proud of how he performed.
“We got a quarterback who played his tail off tonight,” Niblett said. “Took some shots, got back up. He’s a tough kid, and we’re going to be able to go a long way with him.”
It helps that Parker has a receiving tandem of Shedrick Jackson and George Pickens, who totaled 237 yards collectively.
After this week's contest, Hoover will open region play with a trip to Mountain Brook next week.
