Photos by Barry Stephenson
Hoover Football Oak Mountain Football
Hoover's Greg Russell celebrates a sack during a game between Oak Mountain and Hoover on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at the Hoover Met in Hoover.
After reclaiming the Class 7A, Region 3 title last fall, the Hoover High School football team has shown no indication that it intends to relinquish it this year.
The Bucs went 7-0 in region play last year and are off to a 4-0 start in the region this fall. Last week, Hoover came off its open week and laid the hammer on Oak Mountain, defeating the Eagles, 59-7.
Hoover rolled up 375 yards on the ground, scoring seven rushing touchdowns.
“We ran it great,” said running back Vonte’ Brackett, who rushed 10 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. “We all bring something to the table.”
Larry McCammon was the bell cow for Hoover, rushing for 112 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Jacquez Allen gained 52 yards and found the end zone twice. Kaulin Jackson rushed 10 times for 56 yards and a touchdown, all on Hoover’s final drive.
Quarterback Jalen Parker did most of his damage in the first half, and he finished 16-of-23 for 167 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown.
“Jalen’s a gym rat,” said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. “He’s a guy that studies the game. He wants the game plan as quick as possible on Wednesday so he can go through it.”
The lone passing touchdown for the Bucs came early in the second half when Parker hit Brooks Brymer for a 1-yard touchdown to put Hoover up 38-7.
In order to improve to 5-0 in region play, Hoover will have to navigate past Huffman on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Viking Stadium, on the campus of Huffman High School.
“That’ll be a big opportunity for us,” Niblett said. “Just try to be 1-0 after every week.”
Huffman is 3-3 overall on the season and has alternated wins and losses through its first six games. In order to keep that trend alive, it will have to find a way to pull an upset, since the Vikings are coming off a loss to Spain Park.
The task will be tall for the Vikings, but they did hold up well against the Jags last week, taking a lead into the half and only falling by nine points, 35-26.
Last fall, Hoover coasted to a 38-6 victory over Huffman.
- Gary Lloyd contributed to this report.
