Frank Couch
Thompson at Oak Mountain
Oak Mountain's Connor Webb QB drops back for a pass during a game between Thompson and Oak Mountain on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, at Heardmont Park in Birmingham.
The Hoover and Oak Mountain high school football teams come into Friday's game relatively fresh.
Each is coming off an open week in the middle of the season, something that both teams surely welcomed after a challenging early-season slate and the toll playing in Class 7A, Region 3 takes on any team.
Hoover (4-1, 3-0 in region) has won each of its last four games, with the last three victories coming against region foes Mountain Brook, Spain Park and Tuscaloosa County. The Bucs withstood heavy challenges from the Spartans and Jags before flattening Tuscaloosa County Sept. 22.
With a win, the Bucs likely clinch a playoff berth for the 18th consecutive season.
Oak Mountain (3-2, 1-2) matched last season’s win total from last season by winning its first three games of the season, but its last two games have proven less friendly. A 7-0 loss to Vestavia Hills on Sept. 15 preceded a 49-14 defeat at the hands of Thompson the following week.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Hoover Met.
After the last two weeks, the playoff picture in Region 3 has become clear in some ways and murky in others.
Hoover and Thompson have distanced themselves from the pack, with Huffman, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills all seemingly contenders for the final two spots, making each game critical in terms of extending the season beyond the regular season.
In Hoover’s last game, the win over Tuscaloosa County, the Bucs possessed the ball seven times and scored a touchdown each time.
Senior quarterback Jalen Parker completed eight of his 10 passing attempts for 208 yards and three touchdowns. His scoring tosses covered 16, 62 and 34 yards to receivers Shedrick Jackson, George Pickens and Shaw Niblett, respectively. He also added an 11-yard scoring run.
The Bucs' three-headed monster in the backfield – Larry McCammon, Vonte’ Brackett and Jacquez Allen – all had big contributions, with Brackett and Allen each finding pay dirt twice, while McCammon ripped off the night’s first touchdown just 1:33 into the game, courtesy of a 12-yard scamper off right tackle.
Oak Mountain comes off the loss to Thompson, where the Warriors’ dynamic passing attack proved too much for the Eagles. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 399 yards and five touchdowns.
The Eagles’ best drive of the game came midway through the first quarter, when they put together a solid eight-play, 70-yard drive. Ethan Duncan’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone tied the game at 7-7.
Oak Mountain took the ball to begin the third quarter, and quarterback Connor Webb’s 1-yard run cut the deficit to 28-14, but three straight Thompson scores after that made it 49-14 by the end of the period.
Webb had a productive evening throwing the ball. He finished 13-of-21 for 140 yards. Duncan was the most successful Eagle on the ground, as he racked up 60 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
“We’ve got a challenge in front of us,” said Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell said. “We’ve got to show what kind of character we have. We can’t allow one week or one game define our season.”
