Hoover running back LaMarion McCammon(3) is brought down by a number of Spain Park defenders during a game between Hoover High School and Spain Park High School on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at the Hoover Met in Hoover AL. Photo by Barry Stephenson.
Here's a look back at the last week in high school sports at Hoover and Spain Park.
FOOTBALL
Hoover and Spain Park renewed their annual rivalry last week, with the Bucs winning at the Hoover Met. Click here for the recap of that contest.
This Friday, both teams continue Class 7A, Region 3 play, with Hoover hosting Vestavia Hills and Spain Park traveling to Thompson.
VOLLEYBALL
The Hoover and Spain Park volleyball teams were busy last week as well. Hoover suffered a pair of tough five-set losses during the week, falling to Mountain Brook on Tuesday and Oak Mountain on Thursday.
Against Mountain Brook, the Bucs won the first two sets before falling in the final three (22-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-11, 15-13). Kendyl Mitchell posted a double-double for the evening, going for 15 kills and 11 digs. Though the Bucs had three defensive specialists out for the night, they still had an outstanding defensive showing. Raegan James and Sydney Durban had 16 digs each, and Adair Byars had 13 digs.
In the Oak Mountain match, the Bucs and Eagles went back and forth (25-20, 12-25, 25-23, 6-25, 15-13). Setter Maggie Harris had a season-high 19 digs to get her first double-double of the year. She was closely followed by Byars with 15 digs, Durban with 14 digs and Mitchell and Raegan James with 11 digs. Mitchell got her second double-double for the season with 10 kills. Mackenzie Richards, a junior middle blocker, had an outstanding performance with 10 kills, 7 digs, 5 blocks and 2 aces.
Hoover traveled to Guntersville for the Tournament of Champions on Saturday, going 2-2. The Bucs beat Buckhorn and Alexandria and fell to Cleveland (Tenn.) to earn their way into the silver bracket. Hoover then played North Cobb of Georgia in a close match, but lost in a tiebreaker.
Hoover’s offensive leaders for the weekend included Mitchell with 19 kills, James with 18 kills and Harris with 71 assists. Harris and Byars also led the team in aces with 5 each. The Bucs’ defensive leaders included Peyton David with 28 digs, closely followed by James and Harris with 22 digs each. Alanah Pooler and Reese Hawks tied for the team’s blocking leaders with 7 blocks each.
Hoover is now 8-10 on the season and hosts Homewood on Tuesday.
Spain Park beat Thompson 3-1 (26-28, 25-21, 25-9, 25-19) last Tuesday before heading to the Tournament of Champions in Tampa, Florida. In Florida, the Jags fell to Gulf Breeze (Fla.) 2-0, Venice (Fla.) 2-0 and Buford (Ga.) 2-0 to begin the event. Spain Park rallied to beat Steinbrenner 2-0 and Mountain Brook 2-0, before falling to Mosley 2-0.
For the week, Ashley Fowler led the Jags with 10 aces. On offense, Emily Breazeale had 70 kills, followed by Megan Ingersoll’s 37 kills. Lilly Johnson had 72 assists, while Haley Thompson had 58 assists. Brooklyn Allison paced the defense with 63 digs.
This week, Spain Park travels to Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday and to Chelsea on Thursday for a pair of Class 7A, Area 6 matches.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover cross-country team competed in the Warrior 2 Mile Invitational at Thompson. The Bucs had standout performances, particularly on the boys side. Elijah Joseph (10:27), Matthew Harden (10:29) and Cannon Peters (10:31) crossed the line third, fourth and fifth. Danny Tackett finished 10th and Zander Dakis was 13th.
For the girls, Catherine Wallace led the way with a sixth-place finish. Lana Kate Hammonds (13th), Lila Hunter (15th) and Ava Sparks (17th) were also in the top 20.
Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.
