ALABASTER, Alabama -- The #4 Hoover Bucs used a stingy defense to defeat #3 Thompson 9-0 at Warriors Stadium on Friday night. With the Buc's win, they win the Class 7A, Region 3 title, and the #1 seed in the region as they will host Bob Jones in the first round of the 2022 playoffs.

Hoover (9-1, 7-0) came into the game knowing that points would be hard to come by on offense and that the Bucs' defense would need to step up. "We are brothers that play together," said Bucs DL Andrew Parrish. "We had a great week of practice coming into this game; we were focused. The defense knows what to do on game days. We show up and dominate. This is awesome."

The Bucs defense had three fourth-down stops and an interception in the first half and just came with pressure all game long. "We all played as a team," said Bucs DL Chaleb Powell. "We did our job and came out with a win tonight. We had great practices coming into this game, and it paid off. I love my brothers, that keep fighting. This is a blessing. We came together as a team, practiced, grinded, shed blood and tears together, and did our job for this win."

Hoover came into the game with freshman quarterback Noah Schuback who played well last week. This is the first time all season that Hoover played the same 11 guys on offense that they did last week due to injuries. Quarterbacks senior Brewer Smith and junior Brody Stacey have injuries forcing freshman Schuback and Jonah Winston to get snaps.

Thompson (7-3, 6-1) moved the ball down the field on their first possession of the game. Thompson had a fourth and one at the Bucs 45-yard line but failed to convert, and Hoover took the ball over on down. Hoover drove the field with 3:34 left in the first quarter, and running back Larry McCammon scored on a 1-yard run for the Bucs. With the score, Hoover took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. "I'm so fired up for our defense," said Bucs head coach Wade Waldrop. "Proud of our kids' fight coming here and getting the road win."

Again, in the first half, Thompson moved the ball into Hoover territory, but on a fourth and one play, defensive Jordan Norman made a stop, and again Thompson turned the ball over on downs. With five minutes left in the first half, Thompson was driving again, but at the Bucs 10-yard line, defensive back Jay Avery picked off a Thompson pass in the end zone to wipe away a Thompson scoring opportunity. 

Hoover drove the ball down the field with less than three minutes in the half, but the Bucs fumbled the ball away, and defensive back Anquon Fegans recovered the ball for Thompson to end a Hoover drive deep in Warriors territory. 

Thompson was not finished yet on offense. Trent Seaborn entered the game and hit Bo Jones on a deep pass down to the Bucs 20-yard line and set up a Warriors scoring opportunity, but a penalty and a sack moved the ball out of scoring opportunity, and the Bucs defense held on a fourth down for the third time in the first half.

Thompson blocked a punt in the second half and had the ball deep into Hoover territory inside the 10-yard line. Three plays later, Thompson moved the ball to the 4-yard line and had to settle for a field goal attempt. The kick was missed, and Hoover still had the 7-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Again, Thompson had the ball in Hoover territory, but defensive lineman Norman picked off a pass in the flats and raced deep down in Thompson territory. Still, an unsportsmanlike penalty and a holding call moved the ball, causing the Bucs not to get any points from this drive.

In the fourth quarter, Hoover had the field position, and the Bucs defense was causing all kinds of disruptions for the Thompson defense. With 7:21 left in the game, the Hoover defense came up with a safety as Parrish tackled the Thompson quarterback in the end zone. With the score, the Bucs led 9-0, and it seemed like 50-0 the way the Hoover defense was playing. "The defense was excellent. We were in sync for most of the night," said Bucs linebacker Bradley Shaw. "Tonight, we showed teams that we can play and are not scared of nobody. This is so great for our team. We came together and came out with this win. We showed people we can do this." 

Late in the game, Thompson had the ball at the Hoover 27-yard line but ran out of time, and Hoover went on for the win. This was the first time since 2016 that Thompson was shut out in a game. Thompson outgained Hoover 300 to 136 yards but could not convert three times in the red zone. "We don't do what we need to do to get in the end zone," said Warriors head coach Mark Freeman. "Two phases of the game, we play well enough to win tonight. Offensively, we left a lot of opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. This is not the first time this year that we didn't take advantage of things on offense. We are a football team trying to improve each week, and we will get better from this game."

Thompson is off next week and will host Huntsville in the first round of the playoffs.