The Reset: Winter sports underway

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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 recently saw its season come to a conclusion in the Class 7A semifinals. The Bucs fell to Thompson in the semis for the third consecutive year. Click here for the recap of that game.

BASKETBALL

Over the last few weeks, the Hoover and Spain Park basketball teams have been busy.

The Spain Park basketball teams traveled to Mountain Brook on Nov. 17. The Lady Jags cruised to a 56-24 victory behind 13 points from Jordy Griggs. The boys game was a thriller, with Spain Park outlasting Mountain Brook 67-63 in double overtime. The game was a back-and-forth affair the whole way, with the Jags prevailing in the second extra period. Mountain Brook was led by Rayven Turner, who led all scorers with 25 points and pulled down six rebounds. Bo Barber scored 16 points, knocking down 4-of-7 3-pointers. Julius Clark chipped in 13 points as well.

For Spain Park, Josh Harrington led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points. Colin Turner scored 10 points, while Cam Crawford and JR Lambert each chipped in nine points. Blake Floyd contributed seven points.

Hoover paid a visit to Anniston on Nov. 17 for an evening of action. The Lady Bucs earned a 66-53 win over the defending Class 4A champion, jumping out with a big first quarter and hanging on from there. Hoover scored 28 points in the first quarter. Reniya Kelly led the way for Hoover with 19 points and was joined in double figured by Jada Knight, Kristen McMillan and Aniya Hubbard, who scored 14, 13 and 11 points. 

Hoover’s boys suffered their first loss of the year in a 61-59 loss to Anniston. Chip Culpepper was the top scorer with 20 points, while DJ Fairley scored 15 points. 

On Nov. 19, Hoover’s girls took a 63-45 win over Ramsay. Kelly notched 20 points in the victory, with Hubbard scoring 15 and McMillan adding 10 points.

Spain Park swept Oak Mountain on Nov. 20. In the girls game, the Lady Jags earned a 63-45 win. Haley Russell scored 14 points and Griggs added 13. Spain Park’s boys picked up a 52-45 victory as well. Oak Mountain’s Will Shaver led all scorers with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Crawford paced Spain Park with 20 points. For the Jags, Turner talled eight points and Lambert and Harrington added seven points. Oak Mountain’s Matthew Heiberger had eight points and seven rebounds. 

The Hoover boys played in the Spartan Turkey Jam at Mountain Brook over Thanksgiving, beginning with a 68-65 loss to Eufaula on Nov. 21. In the loss, Fairley had 21 points and seven rebounds, while Culpepper had 16 points and seven boards. Brodin Grady added 11 points. Spain Park’s boys began hosting the Jag Classic with a 56-30 win over John Carroll. Turner led the way with 14 points, Harrington added 12, Zach Gray scored nine and Crawford scored six points.

To begin Thanksgiving week, Spain Park’s girls went to Guntersville and picked up a 56-50 win over Sparkman on Nov. 23. Also that day, Hoover’s boys gutted out a 76-74 win over Greenville in the Spartan Turkey Jam. Fairley had 20 points and Culpepper had 19 to lead the Bucs, while Austin Montgomery tallied 13 points and Grady chipped in 11. Spain Park’s boys got a 60-41 win over White Plains in the Jag Classic. Crawford had a big game, with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Turner nearly matched him with 16 points, five boards and two blocks. Gray finished with six points, while Blake Hay and Jax Hovanec each had five points.

On Nov. 24, Spain Park’s girls earned a 48-40 win over Muscle Shoals in Guntersville. Spain Park’s boys finished off the Jag Classic in style, beginning with a 54-32 win over Homewood. In that game, Crawford led the way with 10 points, while Hay added nine and Blake Floyd and Gray each had six. In the final, the Jags cruised to an 86-64 win over Gardendale. Turner (24 points) and Crawford (20) each had big games, with Harrington and Lambert each scoring 10 points as well.

Last Monday, the Spain Park girls began the week with a 55-44 win over Madison Academy.

On Tuesday, Spain Park swept Clay-Chalkville. The Lady Jags earned a 72-16 win, led by 10 points from Stephanie Tooson. The boys also managed a 61-44 victory, led by 16 points from Crawford. Turner also scored 14 points, with Harrington adding 13 and Lambert contributing seven. Also on Tuesday, Hoover’s boys suffered a narrow 47-45 loss at Oxford. Culpepper led the Bucs with 17 points and Grady added 10 points.

The Spain Park and Hoover boys squared off on Friday, with the Jags remaining unbeaten with a tight 47-46 win. Hoover’s Colby Carter led all scorers with 18 points, scoring 11 of those in the fourth quarter. Culpepper added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Fairley tallied seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Crawford led the Jags with 16 points, with Turner adding 10, Dawson DeFalco posting eight and Lambert having six.

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

The Hoover and Spain Park indoor track and field teams began their season at the Magic City Invitational last Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Winning events for the Bucs were Jebreiya Chapman (60-meter dash), Kayla Jemison (high jump), Julian Fore (400-meter run) and Elijah Joseph (800). The girls also won the 4x200 relay.

For Spain Park, Mackenzie Culpepper won the 800 and Anna Collin won the pole vault event.

WRESTLING

The high school wrestling season is underway as well. Last Tuesday, Spain Park beat East Limestone 60-12 but lost to Huntsville 38-31.

On Thursday, Hoover notched a 39-33 victory over Pelham and a 60-12 win over Thompson. Spain Park managed to knock off Hoover 41-31 and also picked up wins over Pelham (53-18) and Thompson (68-6). On Saturday, the Jags beat Gardendale 34-28 and fell to Vestavia Hills 37-21.

— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.