The rematch

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The rematch is here.

The top two Class 7A football teams in the Birmingham area — Hoover and Thompson — are set for another showdown on Friday night in the state semifinals. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Larry Simmons Stadium in Alabaster.

The Bucs and Warriors squared off for the first time on Oct. 27 in what turned out to be the Region 3 championship. In front of more than 12,000 fans at the Hoover Met, Thompson overcame an early 10-point deficit to win 32-25 in an instant classic.

By virtue of winning that contest and the region title, Thompson holds the right to host the playoff meeting between the two squads. The crowd is expected to be roughly half of what it was the first meeting, but the atmosphere should be just as impressive.

“Hey, when you’re playing during Thanksgiving, it’s a blessing,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said following last week’s win over Hewitt-Trussville.

Both teams arrived at this point by cruising through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Hoover routed visiting Sparkman, 49-7, in the first round, and used a huge third quarter to pull away from previously unbeaten Hewitt-Trussville, winning 56-21.

Thompson dominated Huntsville, 35-0, in the first round before an initial wake up call from Mountain Brook in the second round. The Spartans held a 10-6 halftime edge, but the Warriors woke up after the break and rolled to a 34-10 victory.

In last week’s win, Hoover scored 29 points in less than six minutes to begin the third quarter, after Hewitt cut the deficit to 20-14 at the half.

“I can’t say enough about our kids and how they answered,” Niblett said. “We needed that because our backs were against the wall a little bit.”

Larry McCammon paced Hoover’s rushing attack with 153 yards on 11 carries. Jacquez Allen added 123 yards on 14 carries, and Vonte’ Brackett had 93 yards on seven carries. Jalen Parker finished the game 10-of-16 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. George Pickens hauled in six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.

That rushing attack will be critical against Thompson. It proved a double-edged sword in the last meeting between the two teams. McCammon racked up 167 yards in the game, but his second-quarter fumble began to swing the tide in Thompson’s favor.

The Bucs will be contending with a Thompson team that outscored Mountain Brook 28-0 in the second half last week.

Thompson quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, one of the top signal callers in the state, was just 5-of-12 for 31 yards in the first half last week against Mountain Brook. In the second half, he dominated, completing 20-of-27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 25-of-39 for 252 yards and three scores.

“Best I’ve ever seen in high school,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said of Tagovailoa. “I think he’s got a golden arm and I believe we’ll be watching him on Sunday one day. He’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen a better one. Never.”

Tagovailoa connected with Alondae Vassar for touchdowns of 11 and 17 yards, both in the third quarter. Shadrick Byrd scored on a 5-yard run midway through the third quarter, and Tagovailoa found Ahmad Harris-Edwards for a 9-yard score early in the fourth quarter.

In the Oct. 27 meeting with the Bucs, Tagovailoa finished 14-of-27 passing for 226 yards, with his most impressive sequence coming on a long, 98-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to give Thompson the lead for good.

Hoover is looking to advance to the state championship game for the 16th time in the last 18 years and is looking to defend its title from last fall. Thompson’s only previous appearance in the title game came in 1982, when the Warriors won it all in Class 3A.

The winner will face the victor between McGill-Toolen and Central-Phenix City in the Super 7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

- Sam Chandler and Gary Lloyd contributed to this report.