The Hoover High offense hasn’t put crazy numbers on the scoreboard for the most part this season. That hasn’t been a problem for the Bucs.

Hoover has one of the state’s top defenses and the Bucs showed it again on Friday night in a 17-7 Class 7A Region 3 win over homestanding Hewitt-Trussville in a Class 7A Region showdown. The Bucs limited the high-flying Huskies to just over 200 yards in offense.

Hoover, the No. 6 ranked Class 7A team, never trailed against the No. 5 Huskies. The Bucs scored touchdowns on a 11-yard pass from Brewer Smith to Jordan Woolen and a 1-yard run by Ahamari Williams. Peyton Argent also had a 38-yard field goal. The only Hewitt-Trussville score came on a 1-yard run by Peyton Floyd.

The Bucs have now won five consecutive games and 11 of the last 12 over the Huskies. More importantly, Hoover (4-1 overall, 3-0 Region 3) stays on top of the region standings with Thompson. Hewitt-Trussville falls to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the region.

*UMS-Wright knows how to win. The state’s top ranked team scored all its points in the second half during a hard-fought 10-7 Class 5A Region 1 win over No. 8 Vigor.

Vigor (3-2, 2-2) took a touchdown lead late in the third quarter on a 13-yard run by Jacori Barnes. The lead didn’t hold up thanks to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Sutton Snypes to Cole Blaylock and a 32-yard field goal by Kingston Phan.

*A week ago, Opelika went into overtime to knock off Class 7A top ranked Phenix City Central. Seven days later, Opelika dropped a 24-21 overtime decision to Prattville. Welcome to life in Class 7A Region 2.

*You want points? Randolph scored more than 50 points in the third successive game during an impressive 53-20 win Class 4A Region 8 over Westminster Christian. Take away a season-opening 41-21 loss to still undefeated West Morgan and the Raiders are averaging 51 points per game.

The Priceville High defense extended its shutout streak to 12 quarters with a 40-0 whitewashing at New Hope. The Bulldogs won a 54-47 shootout with Fairview in the second game of the season. Since then, the Bulldogs shut out Madison County, D.A.R. and New Hope in Class 4A Region 8 play.

Randolph and Priceville share the top of the region standings.

*Mary G. Montgomery can no longer be considered the best winless team in the state. The Vikings, who lost three close games, including two in overtime to start the season, finally broke into the win column with a 33-19 Class 7A Region 1 victory over Alma Bryant.

The Vikings had lost the past 22 games on the field heading into Friday’s game. The last win was a forfeit victory in the ninth game of the 2020 season. The last on-the-field win was a 14-13 win over Baldwin County in the opening week of the 2020 season. But, they’ve taken big strides under first-year head coach Zach Golson and are on to better days.

*Look at what’s going on at West Morgan. The Rebels remained unbeaten with a 35-16 Class 4A Region 7 win over previously unbeaten Rogers. The Rebels are 10-5 under second-year head coach Drew Phillips, after compiling a 7-23 record the previous three seasons.

West Morgan (5-0, 3-0) has a bye next week, before facing Deshler (5-0, 3-0) with region supremacy on the line.

*A week after catching every pass in sight, Helena’s Hunter Hale had a pair of key catches, one on offense and the other on defense, to help his team grab a 31-24 overtime win over Pelham. In the win over the Panthers, Hale had an 8-yard touchdown catch from Dalton Llewellyn on the Huskies overtime possession. He then sealed the win with an interception at the back of the end zone.

A week ago, Hale had 14 catches for 181 yards with two touchdowns in an overtime win over Chilton County.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irvine@1819news.com.

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