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 Hoover vs Prattville | Wednesday, December 3, 2014 | 7A Championship Game 
QB #11 Jack Hutcheson (Hoover) will be playing in the first 7A championship game

#1 Hoover Bucs will play the #2 Prattville Lions in the first ever AHSAA Class 7A football championship Wednesday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. These two schools have played each over five times, all five games have been in championships games. Prattville leads the series at 3-2 and last game was won by the Lions in a thriller in Tuscaloosa back in 2011.

Hoover comes into this game with a 11-game winning streak and they are playing some great football. "We come into this game pretty healthy and we are ready to go," said Bucs head coach Josh Niblett. "I've told the players that we have one shot at this and we must make the most of it." The Bucs have some great seniors that provide leadership on this team. "The senior leaders have been the key," added Niblett. "Most of these guys when they were sophomores and juniors they just had to play the game, but now as seniors they have provided the leadership we need to be successful on and off the field."

Hoover on offense can get into the endzone many different ways. Jack Hutcheson leads the way for the Bucs. The senior quarterback has thrown for 1,638 yards with 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. "Jack understands what we need him to do to manage the game," said Niblett. "Jack has played well in big games. We look to get balance on offense but sometimes it doesn't work out that way due to the defense."

Weapons, yes Hoover has them. The receiving core is the best in the state. Alex Elam can move the chains or can go deep anytime in the game. Elam leads the Bucs in catches and touchdowns. Leonard Wood is the same type of receiver that has more size. Wood leads the Bucs in yardage. Justin Johnson, a Mississippi State commitment, is another big play receiver for Hoover.

The X-factor on the team is Kris Parker for the Bucs. The Bucs offense made a turn for the better after week #3 with Parker coming back to the starting lineup after an injury. Parker can run the ball, catch it and can make all the blocks on a defensive end and linebacker. "Another one of these great leaders," added Niblett. "Kris can do about anything we ask him to do." Tight ends Quincy Cox and Riley Niblett have made great contributions for the Bucs.

The offensive line has meshed well with the running backs. "We have to give credit to everyone for our success on running the football," said Niblett. "We really started the year with one lineman with experience and they have done a great job with our tight ends and receivers." The two running backs Bradrick Shaw and Marcus Webb have ran the ball very well this season. Both are 1,000 yard rushers. Shaw has 1,154 yards and 15 touchdowns while Webb has 1,031 yards and 15 touchdowns. Both backs bring different energy to the Bucs offense at different times this season.

The defense has been pretty good during that 11-game winning streak and especially in the playoffs. The Bucs defense have three shutouts to their 2014 resume. The only teams that have run on the Bucs came in the first two games, since then not one team has been successful running on the Bucs. The front seven along with the two safeties just don't let you run the ball. R.J. Arnold gets to the football and leads the Bucs in tackles. "We have to make sure our defensive front moves around against a big offensive line," said Niblett. "We just can't let them push us back." Last week against Gadsden City, Hoover faced a huge offensive line and the Bucs speed was to much for the Titans line. Added in the playoffs has been the pass rush. Linebacker Darrell Williams, an Auburn commitment, has been living in opposing backfields along with Jeremiah Moon and Christian Bell, an Alabama commitment.

In the secondary, P.J. Hall is the leader and can shut down one side of the field. Hall has four interceptions on the season. The key in this game could come in the passing game for Prattville. Can the Lions get enough time to go deep in the passing play and get the big play. The Lions have done that the last two games in the playoffs. They had four passes over 35 yards last week against Foley. Earlier in the season against Tuscaloosa County, the Bucs secondary gave up 291 passing yards. Look to see if the Lions will try to go that route.

For Prattville, the Lions won three road games in a row to get to this championship game. "We have gelled as a team due to those road games," said Lions head coach Chad Anderson. "We have great chemistry right now. We feel like the two loses this season were self inflicted and since the overtime win on the road in the playoffs, we have really played well."

For Prattville on offense, Keith Washington runs the Lions offense. The duel threat quarterback has 1,190 yards on the ground and 19 touchdowns with 1,451 yards and 17 touchdowns. "We have to do the things that we do," added Anderson. "We need to keep them off balance on offense. Keith has been playing well. Does a great job of reading the defense. Earlier in the season, he was just using his legs, but right now he is throwing the ball real well."

Seth Knotts is the deep threat for the Lions. Knotts is the leading receiver for Prattville. It should be a good battle between him and Hall of Hoover on the outside. Wide receiver Derek Gappa scored his only touchdown last week against Foley.

The run games has been good for the Lions this season. Running back Kingston Davis had 1,432 and 14 touchdowns this season. Last week against Foley, Davis had two first half touchdowns but hurt his shoulder in the second quarter and didn't return. Anderson says that Davis is a game time decision. Christian Mays stepped up against Foley in the second half for the Lions. Junior Joseph Burke had a sold year for the Lions. "Kingston is our catalyst for our team," added Anderson. "We have some young guys that have stepped up with him this season." The Prattville line is very big and could present some problems to the Bucs defensive front.

The Prattville defense could really get tested against the Bucs. Prattville gave up 21.4 points per game in the regular season. The last two playoff games, the Lions defense have giving up only 12.0 points per game and will need that effort against Hoover for them to win.

Linebacker Dytarious Johnson, defensive lineman Anthony Brown, defensive lineman Nathaniel Anderson and Eric Seabon look the keep the Bucs ground game in check.

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