AUBURN, Alabama -- The #1 Hoover Bucs win the first Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 7A state championship 35-21 against Prattville at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Hoover has won three straight state championships and have tied Hazelwood for 11 AHSAA state championships.
Hoover (12-2) took a 21-0 lead late in the second quarter and a 28-7 halftime lead that was to much for Prattville to overcome. "We wanted to run the football but take our shots down the field in the passing game," said Bucs head coach Josh Niblett. "I think the big play of the game was scoring right before halftime with Jack (Hutcheson) hitting Leonard (Wood) on the long touchdown play to put us up 28-7. People doubted us early in the season when we had the 0-2 start, but I knew what we had inside the walls and we knew that we had to form our identity and I'm so proud of our kids, this program, our school and community."
The Bucs started the scoring first on a Quincy Cox from Jack Hutcheson 7-yard touchdown play for Hoover. Hunter Schmith kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 6:23 in the first quarter. Hoover scored again on a MVP Marcus Webb 20-yard touchdown. Schmith added the PAT for a 14-0 Bucs lead with 8:00 left in the half. Webb finished the game with 157 yards on 22 carries a whopping 7.0 yard per carry and a touchdown. Hoover was not done in the second quarter as Bradrick Shaw scored on a 5-yard fun with 2:04 left in the quarter. Shaw finished the game with 103 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.
Prattville came right back with their first touchdown of the game on a Daniel Knotts 50-yard touchdown pass by Keith Washington. Joshua Moore kicked the extra point as the Lions cut the lead back to two touchdowns. The big blow was with only :20 seconds left in the half, Hoover hit on a bomb. Hutcheson found Leonard Wood behind the secondary for a 41-yard touchdown play and that put the Bucs up 28-7 at the half. "I was proud of our kids the way they came out with their intensity in the first half," added Niblett. "Jack has been big in the playoffs. This isn't the first year that he has done this. When your 27-2 as a starting QB it says something about your maturity. He knows our offense and understands what we want to do. He takes care of the ball and knows when we can take our shots down the field. He has made some big throws in the playoffs." Hutchinson finished the night completing 9-of-15 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Most teams down three touchdowns to Hoover would pretty much shut it down, but not Prattville. In the second half, the Lions came out with 7:44 left in the third quarter and scored on a Washington 1-yard run. That cut the Bucs lead to 28-14. Hoover answered right back with 5:10 left in the quarter on a Shaw 20-yard spectacular run. Going left on a sweep, Shaw cut back and raced towards the right endzone and dove across the goal-line for the score.
Prattville cut the Bucs lead again with 4:51 left in the game on a Derek Gappa 41-yard touchdown reception from Washington. The Lions were down 35-21 late in the game. The Lions defense gave their offense a couple of drives late in the game, but the Bucs defense rose to the occasion and kept Prattville out of the endzone. "We played well on defense, but they were a great team and made some big plays on us," said Bucs linebacker Darrell Williams. "This is a great way to end our season. This has been a great journey, my senior year. To finish it off the way I wanted to finish it. I've won three state championships and everyone has been special."
For Prattville on offense, Washington completed 11-of-23 passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns. The senior QB mobility made some big plays on deep passes down the field. "We fought all year long, a lot of people didn't give us a chance to be in this position," said Lions head coach Chad Anderson. "We are here and I think we are going to be here for awhile if we continue to work hard."
