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Photo By Todd Lester
Hoover DB Myles Spurling (9) silences the crowd during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover RB Jacquez Allen (21), returns the second half kickoff for a touchdown during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover running back Larry McCammon (3) breaks a run during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover RB Larry McCammon (3) battles through tackles during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia DB Andrew Knight (24) tackles Hoover WR George Pickens (1) during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover QB Jalen Parker (13) attempts a pass during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover WR Shedrick Jackson (80) is tackled during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover DE Greg Russell (43) prepares to make a tackle during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia QB Coleman Petway is tackled during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia WR Everett Shea (3) is tackled during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia QB Coleman Petway (14) is tackled during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover DB Chase Brown (16) attempts to intercept a pass during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia DB Andrew Knight (24) battles Hoover WR George Pickens (1) for a pass during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover DB Chase Brown (16) attempts to tackle Vestavia QB Coleman Petway (14) during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia QB Coleman Pettway (14) dives into the endzone during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover RB Jacquez Allen (21) runs the football during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover QB Jalen Parker (13) attempts a pass during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Vestavia RB William Schaffeld (32) runs the football during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover DT Ryan Caldbeck (42) makes a tackle during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Action during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Todd Lester
Hoover RB Jabari Moore (7) runs the football during a game between Hoover and Vestavia Hills on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Thompson Reynolds Stadium in Vestavia Hills.
VESTAVIA HILLS — Jacquez Allen caught the second-half kickoff a couple of steps behind his 15-yard line then began to look for a hole.
At first, he found a crease up the middle, where he dodged a swarm of blue jerseys. Then, he bolted toward the sideline and turned up field.
“When I caught it, I was just thinking end zone,” Allen said.
He made it.
Allen’s 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the third quarter provided his Hoover High School football team with the spark it needed to beat Class 7A, Region 3 rival Vestavia Hills 17-7 on Friday night at Thompson Reynolds Stadium.
“You’ve got to find ways to win, and we found ways to win,” Bucs head coach Josh Niblett said. “That was a big momentum boost for us.”
Allen’s return doubled Hoover’s lead to 14-0. Vestavia Hills (3-5, 2-4 in region) held the Bucs (7-1, 6-0) to only seven points in a tight first half.
Hoover quarterback Jalen Parker connected with Shedrick Jackson on a 41-yard strike early in the second quarter. A few plays later, Parker, who finished 16-of-22 for 184 yards, found Xavier Long for a 6-yard touchdown.
The score compensated for a missed field goal on the Bucs' opening drive, when Barret Pickering’s 23-yard attempt sailed wide. Hoover’s only other first-half drive ended in a punt.
“We gave up two big plays,” Vestavia Hills head coach Buddy Anderson said of Allen’s return and Jackson’s catch. “I feel like that was the difference in the ball game.”
The Rebels, relying heavily on the rushing game, possessed the ball in the opening half for more than twice as long as the Bucs. They ran 32 times for 123 yards. William Schaffeld accounted for the bulk of those and finished the game with 114 yards on 27 carries.
But Vestavia Hills struggled to capitalize even as it controlled the tempo. One first-half drive stalled when the Rebels turned it over on downs at the Hoover 28, and another came up empty when Caleb Huber’s 40-yard field goal fell short.
Any points would have helped Vestavia Hills after it fell behind by two scores on the first play after halftime.
“The kickoff return should have never happened,” Anderson said. “We just broke down somewhere. That was a killer.”
Neither team lit up the scoreboard again until the final quarter, when Hoover kicker Will Reichard converted a 32-yard field goal. He came on to replace Pickering after he missed a 30-yard attempt on Hoover’s first full possession of the second half.
“It was one of those deals where Will came in, got an opportunity and made the most of it,” Niblett said.
Vestavia Hills quarterback Coleman Petway scrambled in from 10 yards on his team’s ensuing possession to cut Hoover’s lead to 17-7, but the Bucs defense allowed nothing more.
Defensive back Myles Spurling iced the outcome by picking off Petway on the game’s deciding drive.
“We got stops when we needed to get stops, and that’s what it’s all about,” Niblett said.
After the game, which was designated a Great American Rivalry, Hoover junior linebacker Nick Curtis was named MVP. He recorded six tackles and a sack.
Niblett compared him to former Hoover and current University of Florida standout Jeremiah Moon, who watched Friday’s game from the Hoover sidelines. The Gators are on a bye week.
“We want to continue to get him to improve because we know how much of a good player he can be,” Niblett said of Curtis.
Hoover and Vestavia Hills will wrap up region play next week. The Bucs will host Thompson for the region title, and the Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa County.
