Photo By Barry Stephenson
2020 Hoover Football
Hoover Outside Linebacker Shun Sheffield(24) makes a tackle during a game between Hoover and Gadsden City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, at the Hoover Met.
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
FOOTBALL
The Hoover football team dispatched Gadsden City 38-0 last Friday night to improve to 2-0 in Class 7A, Region 3 play. Click here for a recap of the game.
Spain Park hung tough with the top-ranked team in 7A, but fell to Thompson 48-35 on Friday. Click here for the recap of the contest.
This week, Hoover hosts Oak Mountain and Spain Park heads to Gadsden City, as both teams remain in region play.
VOLLEYBALL
The Hoover volleyball team began play last week on Tuesday with a sweep of area foe Oak Mountain (25-5, 25-18, 25-14). The Bucs totaled 12 aces in the match, Aly Durban leading the way with four of them, while Eva Guenster and Kendal Youngblood each had three. Rya McKinnon led the Bucs offensively with 10 kills and Gabrielle Essix closely followed with nine kills. Defensively, Sydney Melton had 12 digs and Youngblood had 10 digs.
Hoover picked up another area win on Wednesday by beating Thompson in straight sets (25-7, 27-25, 25-17). McKinnon earned a double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs for the night while maintaining a .640 hitting percentage. Essix was another significant offensive contributor with 10 kills and a .471 hitting percentage. Kayla Jemison contributed four blocks for the evening, Essix had 3 and McKinnon, Durban and Melodie Jones each had two blocks for the Bucs. Melton had 10 digs.
Hoover is now 19-1 overall on the season and this week hosts Jasper on Tuesday and plays at Mountain Brook on Wednesday.
Spain Park picked up an area win last week, downing Hewitt-Trussville in straight sets. In the match:
- Audrey Rothman: 10 kills, seven digs, five aces.
- Katelyn Walsh: 10 digs, four assists.
- Lilly Johnson: 10 assists, nine digs.
- Bella Halyard: seven assists, five kills, three blocks.
Spain Park is now 11-2 overall and this week plays at Vestavia Hills on Tuesday and at Oak Mountain on Thursday.
CROSS-COUNTRY
Hoover and Spain Park’s cross-country teams competed in the Chickasaw Invitational on Saturday at Oakville Indian Mounds Park, the site of the state meet in November. Both teams competed in the “Large Schools” meet, with Hoover’s boys finishing fifth and Spain Park’s ninth. Hoover’s girls placed sixth.
Kyle Epperson was Hoover’s top boys runner, with Elijah Joseph, Matthew Harden, Owen Marquardt and Zander Dakis contributing to the team score. Lauren Wallace paced the Bucs on the girls side, with Abigail Batchelor, Ashley Girouard, Alyssa Halcomb and Anna Caroline Knight also scoring points.
Keith Warner, Kenneth Bishop, Garrett Bishop, Webb Harper and Jackson Cooper led Spain Park’s boys. Peyton LeCroy was Spain Park’s top girl.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.