Photo by Barry Stephenson.
Spain Park wide receiver Reggie Jackson (2) hauls in a pass in front of Hoover defensive back Keith Christein (2) during a game between Hoover High School and Spain Park High School on Sept. 2 at the Hoover Met.
The Hoover and Spain Park high school football teams will wrap up the regular season in October, with both teams looking to make their final pushes to qualify for the Class 7A state playoffs.
Hoover concludes its regular season with three Region 3 contests, while Spain Park plays three region games and a non-region foe to finish things out.
On Oct. 7, Hoover hosts Tuscaloosa County. Tuscaloosa County has struggled in recent years, and the Bucs have had no problems dispatching the Wildcats. Last fall, Hoover won running away, 49-7. The Bucs have won 11 straight over Tuscaloosa County and hold an 18-3 edge in the series, according to AHSFHS.org.
The following Friday, Hoover hosts Chelsea in its final home game, a new face in Region 3 after ascending from 6A beginning this school year. The Bucs and Hornets have never faced one another despite being just over 20 miles apart. Like Hoover’s Wade Waldrop, Chelsea has a first-year head coach in Todd Cassity.
The Bucs will finish out the regular season at Thompson on Oct. 21, in a matchup that has developed into one of the top rivalries in the state. Hoover was the only team to topple Thompson last fall on the Warriors’ route to a third straight state championship. The Bucs won 24-21, but Thompson exacted some revenge in November with a convincing win in the 7A semifinals.
Hoover and Thompson have squared off in the semifinals five consecutive years, with Thompson winning the last four. Since Hoover won the first 20 meetings between the two schools, Thompson has won seven of the last 10.
Hoover will take its open date Week 10 before potentially beginning its playoff run.
Spain Park will open the month with a trip to Chelsea on Oct. 7. Spain Park and Chelsea have met twice previously, with the Jags earning 14-point wins in 2012 and 2013. Like Hoover and Chelsea, this is another game featuring first-year head coaches, with Tim Vakakes’s squad squaring off against Cassity’s Hornets.
Spain Park hosts Hewitt-Trussville on Oct. 14 in another region contest, with the Jags hoping to keep it closer than it has been the last couple years. Four of the first five games between the Jags and Huskies were tight affairs, but Hewitt has blown out the Jags each of the last two seasons, including a 38-17 victory last year.
A playoff berth could be on the line for one or both teams on Oct. 21, as Spain Park hosts Oak Mountain to complete region play. Spain Park has dominated the series against Oak Mountain up until the last two years, when the Eagles have notched convincing wins over their nearest 7A foe.
The Jags round out the regular season Oct. 27 at Pelham. Spain Park holds a 7-5 edge in a series that is being renewed for the first time since 2013.
