Sarah Finnegan
Hoover AT Thompson Football Round 4 Playoffs
Hoover players celebrate their win after an AHSAA 7A playoff match against Thompson on November 24, 2017 at Larry Simmons Stadium in Alabaster, Al.
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. Here is the 12th installment. If you missed last week's edition, click here.
FOOTBALL
The Hoover High School football team avenged its earlier loss to Thompson by defeating the Warriors, 31-12, in the Class 7A semifinals. Click here for full coverage of the game.
The Bucs advance to the 7A championship, where they will face McGill-Toolen in a rematch of last year’s title game. The game will be played Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
BASKETBALL
The Hoover High School basketball teams took to the road during the week of Thanksgiving, and both remain unbeaten after the dust settled.
The boys team traveled to Georgia to play in the North Forsyth Raider Holiday Classic. Last Saturday, the Bucs took down Etowah (Georgia), 59-48. On Monday, they beat Hillgrove (Ga.), 64-37, and defeated Stars Mill (Ga.), 52-43, on Tuesday to win the tournament.
Over the weekend, they traveled to North Carolina for the Charlotte Hoops Challenge and came away with a pair of wins. A 60-43 win over Northwood Temple (North Carolina) on Friday preceded a narrow 59-58 win over Jenkins (Ga.) on Saturday. The Bucs now sit with a 7-0 record.
The Lady Bucs played a pair of games at Carver-Birmingham as part of the BallN Prep Thanksgiving Bash. On Friday, they destroyed Columbia, 81-16. Deshler proved a tougher match, as Hoover saw its big lead whittled away in the second half, but Hoover held on for a 79-68 win to improve to 5-0.
This week, both teams travel to McAdory on Tuesday and Ramsay on Thursday. The Lady Bucs host Hazel Green on Friday and the boys team travels to Florida to play IMG Academy on Saturday.
The Spain Park High School basketball teams were also in action in tournament play over the week.
The girls team looked strong in the Bryant Bank Tournament at Hewitt-Trussville, as the Lady Jags put together three straight wins and won the tournament for the second consecutive year.
Last Saturday, they knocked off Fort Payne, 83-36, before winning games on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, they beat Wenonah, 68-55, and beat Hewitt-Trussville, 62-55, on Tuesday to win the tournament. Claire Holt was named MVP of the event.
The Lady Jags are now 5-1 and have won five straight following a season-opening loss to Ramsay.
The boys team picked up a win in three tries at the 39th annual Sneaky Pete’s Rebel Classic at Vestavia Hills. The Jags sandwiched a 42-38 win over Homewood around losses to eventual champion Helena (68-41) and Clay-Chalkville (53-44).
Each team plays later this week, as the boys host Grissom on Thursday, while both teams play host to Pelham on Friday.
WRESTLING
On Nov. 21, the Spain Park High School wrestling team competed in the Jonathan Harris Duals at Moody High School. The Jags opened pool competition with a 66-15 win over Holtville. In the second round, they defeated Oak Grove, 60-6. The final match in pool competition saw the Jags defeat Moody, 48-31.
The championship round did not go as favorably for Spain Park. The Jags opened with a 48-33 loss to Scottsboro. The last match saw the Jags lose a close one to McAdory, 40-34, with the decision going down to the final match.
Unbeaten for Spain Park was Jack Rivers (120 pounds) with five pins and Gavin Pudlik (132) with two pins and a decision. Caelan March (126) had three pins; Dylan Adair (145) finished with three pins; Jake Harrison (152) finished with two pins; Jack Hudson (170) had three pins; Dylan Rush (182) had four pins; and Cameron Young (285) had three pins and a decision.
- Submitted by Jim Pressler
-- What did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
