Huskies drop heartbreaker to Hoover
TRUSSVILLE – Victory did not come easy for the Hoover High School football team on Friday night.
The Bucs committed two turnovers, a handful of drives stalled in the red zone and there were plenty of other errors to go around in all facets of the game.
But No. 2 Hoover fought through all of that and pulled out a 29-28 win over No. 4 Hewitt-Trussville on Friday night at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium in a top five matchup between Class 7A, Region 3 foes.
“Some nights you don’t play your best, so you’ve got to find a way to persevere and fight through it,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said following the game. “We were able to do that and made some plays when we needed to and got off the field when we needed to.”
Hoover (7-0, 4-0 in region) recaptured the lead for good on Jaylen Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, as the Bucs went ahead by a point and held on. That final score was set up by a Marcus Williams interception in the final seconds of the third quarter.
The Bucs were able to overcome a 28-16 deficit in short order as a result. Taylor ripped off a 46-yard run on the preceding possession.
“That was a huge momentum shift in the game,” Niblett said of the interception. “We had just scored on the long run and he gets the pick and it allows us the opportunity to go up and score. It was one of those nights, there were a lot of ebbs and flows.”
Taylor’s touchdown runs sealed the victory for Hoover on a night when top running back Dylan Pauley was held out due to injury. Taylor made the most of his opportunity, rushing for 133 yards on 17 carries.
“That’s what it’s all about. It’s next man up. When guys are banged up, guys have got to step up and make plays, and he did that tonight,” Niblett said.
Constantine Hontzas was a big time player for the Bucs on Friday night as well. The senior kicker converted 3-of-4 field goal tries, knocking them through from 26, 31 and 26 yards. His other try was blocked in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have good kickers in our program, but Constantine has done a really good job,” Niblett said.
Hewitt-Trussville (5-2, 2-2) controlled play for large portions of the game, but after the Huskies opened up the 12-point lead, they had five consecutive fruitless offensive possessions to finish the game. On a night the Huskies outgained the Bucs 421-417, that proved to be the difference.
Connor Thomas provided three significant plays in the game for Hewitt-Trussville. He had two long kickoff returns, each setting up one-play scoring drives for the Huskies. In the second quarter, his return set up a 47-yard Armoni Goodwin run. After taking the second half’s opening kickoff all the way to Hoover’s 38-yard line, Cade Ott Carruth found Omari Kelly on a touchdown pass on the ensuing play. Thomas also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Goodwin and Sean Jackson proved to a be dynamic combination in the backfield once again. Goodwin finished the night with 20 carries for 161 yards, while Jackson gained 97 yards on 13 carries. Jackson also caught three passes for 47 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Carruth completed 7-of-16 passes on the night for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 1-yard score to give Hewitt a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. Kelly was his top target, as he went for 78 yards on three grabs.
Hoover quarterback Josh Lundy put the ball in the air 39 times on Friday night, completing 20 passes for 223 yards and touchdown. The score was a 5-yard throw to Malik Thomas, whose touchdown gave Hoover a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. Thomas was a factor all night, catching seven passes for 96 yards. RJ Hamilton was Hoover’s top receiver, going for 108 yards on seven grabs.
Both teams remain in region play next Friday, as Hoover hosts fierce rival Spain Park and Hewitt-Trussville travels to Vestavia Hills.
“There’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at if we want to be playing on down the line in December,” Niblett said.
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