Photo by Ted Melton
Action during the Spain Park at Saraland third round Class 6A AHSAA Football playoff game at Spartan Field in Saraland, Ala. on Nov. 22, 2024.
The final two high school football teams in the Under the Lights coverage area went down last Friday night, as Hoover and Spain Park were eliminated in playoff losses.
Hoover fell to Central-Phenix City 17-7 in the Class 7A semifinals, as the Bucs were simply unable to get much going on offense after a successful first drive.
Spain Park lost to Saraland 45-19 in the 6A quarterfinals, as the Jags’ unbeaten season to that point came to a close.
It wasn’t the night either hoped for, but it should do nothing to diminish the accomplishments of both teams.
Hoover has been a program written off in recent seasons, succumbing to Thompson in the 7A semifinals five straight years before bowing out in the second round last year. What was supposed to be the next great iteration of Bucs football turned on its head in the summer, after head coach Drew Gilmer resigned after videos surfaced of inappropriate physical behavior at practice.
Chip English, in his second year at Hoover, took over and helped the Bucs weather the storm. Hoover battled some inconsistencies throughout the seasons, but impressive wins against Thompson and Vestavia Hills in the latter stage of the regular season led to a couple of playoff wins as well.
It remains to be seen what Hoover will do with its head coaching position, but English certainly deserves to be near the top of the list after how he managed this season.
Spain Park has flipped the perception of its program. The Jags struggled on and off the field before the arrival of Tim Vakakes. Players were being regularly poached by other area programs and the on-field results for the Jags were not great.
Since Vakakes has arrived, he has instilled toughness and confidence, making Spain Park a place players want to play. Everyone seems to be buying in to his vision and it has come to life in a great way. Spain Park will not be a one-hit wonder in Class 6A.
It is my ninth football season covering things for Starnes Media (and the Hoover Sun), and this is only the second time we have not had a team representing us at the Super 7 in traditional football. Spain Park is still alive in girls flag football, with a semifinal game against Hewitt-Trussville coming up Wednesday evening.
It’s been a tremendous season, and I can’t thank you all enough for following along, reading our content, and tuning into the Under the Lights podcast with Gary Lloyd and myself each week. Don’t worry though, Gary and I aren’t done talking about high school football. There will be a few more episodes of the podcast before we put the 2024 season to rest.
This is a weekly column from sports editor Kyle Parmley. Follow him on X at @KyleParmley.
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