Hoover Hype

[JohnDeere 0]

florence

Hoover Hype

Fans fill Braly to watch Falcons take on Bucs

FLORENCE

Hoover High School head football coach Rush Propst sat on a step outside his football team's locker room Friday night, watching the scene across the way at the home stands of Braly Stadium.

A huge crowd constantly cheered, yelled and rattled noisemakers, rocking Braly in a manner that it perhaps had never seen before.

And the teams hadn't even come onto the field yet.

That was a preview of things to come, as the Falcons hosted the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs.

It was apparent from the boisterous crowd that something special had come to town - and it wasn't just the playoffs.

It was the Hoover Bucs, the MTV glamour boys whose program has reached college-type popularity - and scandal.

Hoover had to forfeit four victories this season because of those scandals, which included using an ineligible player. As a result, they dropped to a No. 4 seed in Region 6, matching them against Florence, who won the Region 8 title.

Rather than express frustration over the tough draw, Falcon fans relished in it Friday night, with a crowd that continued to stream in through the first half and eventually filled the mammoth home side of Braly.

"Other than a (University of North Alabama) national championship game, I've never seen it like this," said Falcon fan Alex Rovell shortly before kickoff. "They say to be the best, you've got to beat the best. That's what we've got to do tonight."

Officials said Friday that 10,400 people attended the game.

Greg Thornton, owner of the WYTK radio station that broadcasts Falcon games, took in the scene.

"I've never seen anything like this," Thornton said. "This is the largest crowd I've ever seen in the stadium for a high school game.

"I think this is the whole reason they combined schools when they did, so the whole community can be behind them. (Florence) Coach (Alvin) Briggs is doing a good job of getting the community to rally around this program."

On this particular night, it wasn't just the Florence community.

"Just about our whole school is here," Lexington High School student Whitney Gibson said.

Alongside her, Pete Collier wore his Lexington cap. "I just wanted to see Hoover play; I'd never seen them before," he said.

Fans from various schools dotted the stadium.

Austin High School students Whitney Butler and her boyfriend, Ryan Caldwell, made the trip from Decatur to see the game.

"He was talking about it all week," Whitney Butler said.

Hoover has been in the 6A state championship game three straight years, winning twice.

But the aura they present goes beyond wins and losses. They are known for running a program that many colleges would long to have.

The program was the subject of MTV's popular "Two-A-Days" program, which took a weekly look into the team's season, on and off the field.

Hoover has traveled out of state and taken on - and beaten - national high school powers. They have played live on ESPN.

Off the field, the Bucs have gained somewhat of a notorious reputation, so much, in fact, that Propst is being dismissed as coach after this season. There were even some eyebrows furrowed this week when Hoover left Birmingham on Thursday and spent the night at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa, rather than make the two-hour drive Friday.

Belmont (Miss.) High School football players Dustin Poole, Alex Sparks and Ethan Collier had just entered Braly about midway through the first quarter, after standing in a long line that didn't appear to be shrinking.

They said Hoover's program intrigues them. "Everything about them - the record, state championships, 'Two-A-Days'," Sparks said.

Max Harbuck, a member of Hoover's football television crew - all Buccaneer regular-season games are televised live in Birmingham - said Hoover usually gets this type of response in visiting games. "There's a lot of curiosity people have about Hoover," he said.

Michael Owens, whose son Michael Owens Jr played fullback at Auburn, last year was 2002., played at Deshler when they lived in Tuscumbia, was on hand to watch his son, Jemeriz Owens, play for Hoover.

Owens has had friends from the Shoals call all week, asking where he'd be so they could visit him.

He said Hoover has grown accustomed to this atmosphere at road games. "We bring it everywhere we go," he said.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.

[WDE1313 0]

Who won?

[JohnDeere 0]

Who won?

Hoover stuns Florence with last-second field goal

By Jeff McIntyre

Assistant Sports Editor

Last Updated:November 10. 2007 12:50AM

Published: November 10. 2007 3:30AM

FLORENCE - It may have been a first-round playoff game, but Florence battled Hoover as if the Class 6A championship was on the line Friday night at Braly Stadium.

The Falcons went right at the powerful Bucs from the opening whistle and were just minutes away from pulling off the biggest win in school history in front of a frenzied crowd of more than 10,000 fans.

Hoover receiver Ken Barefield made several big plays to keep the Bucs in the game, including one that set up Graham Craig's 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining as Hoover escaped with a 31-28 victory.

The loss was a heartbreaker for Florence (8-3), the Region 8 champions.

"Our guys laid it all on the line against one of the top teams in the state," Florence coach Alvin Briggs said. "Nobody gave our guys a chance, but this group has proved people wrong all year. They've proved what hard work and dedication can do, and I'm so proud of them."

Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Florence played with emotion for four quarters and took the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons finished with 465 yards of total offense, with Shawn Southward running for 115 yards on 14 carries and quarterback Chad Willis throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

"It hurts because we tried so hard," Southward said. "We feel like we deserved to win, but things like that happen. Everybody played with great emotion and intensity. We played well, but we just came up short."

Florence appeared on its way to pulling the upset after a fumble recovery by Phil Claiborne set up a scoring drive. The Falcons went 31 yards in six plays with Southward powering his way into the end zone on a 4-yard run. Willis then ran for the two-point conversion and Florence led 28-21 with 10:35 remaining.

After forcing a Hoover punt, Florence was quickly on the move again. The Falcons reached the Hoover 21 before the drive stalled and Willis was intercepted on a fourth-down pass.

Taking over at their own 16 with 4:23 to play, the Bucs faced a fourth-and-six from the 20. Quarterback Tyler Ray ran for the first down to keep the drive alive and later hit Barefield over the middle and the senior wide receiver broke a tackle and went the distance for a 63-yard scoring play to tie it at 28 with 2:38 to go.

After forcing a Florence punt, Hoover took over at its 33 with 1:02 remaining. Ray had completions to 22 and 24 yards to Barefield to put Hoover in field goal position and Craig's 32-yard attempt split the uprights to give the Bucs the win.

"I don't know that I've ever seen a better atmosphere for a high school game," Hoover coach Rush Propst said. "Florence showed so much guts and determination and just gave an unbelievable effort. This kind of game is what high school football is all about."

Hoover led 7-6 at halftime and went up 14-6 early in the second quarter. But Southward scored on a 42-yard run and later on a 17-yard pass from Willis to put Florence up 20-14 later in the third quarter. Moments later, Hoover went up 21-20 on a 60-yard scoring pass from Ray to Brandon Harris.

"There was no quit in our guys tonight," Briggs said. "We played a great game, and in my mind the better team did not win. But we've laid a nice cornerstone for our program and now we have to continue to build on it."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.

florence

[PChamp119 96]

Who won?

Hoover stuns Florence with last-second field goal

By Jeff McIntyre

Assistant Sports Editor

Last Updated:November 10. 2007 12:50AM

Published: November 10. 2007 3:30AM

FLORENCE - It may have been a first-round playoff game, but Florence battled Hoover as if the Class 6A championship was on the line Friday night at Braly Stadium.

The Falcons went right at the powerful Bucs from the opening whistle and were just minutes away from pulling off the biggest win in school history in front of a frenzied crowd of more than 10,000 fans.

Hoover receiver Ken Barefield made several big plays to keep the Bucs in the game, including one that set up Graham Craig's 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining as Hoover escaped with a 31-28 victory.

The loss was a heartbreaker for Florence (8-3), the Region 8 champions.

"Our guys laid it all on the line against one of the top teams in the state," Florence coach Alvin Briggs said. "Nobody gave our guys a chance, but this group has proved people wrong all year. They've proved what hard work and dedication can do, and I'm so proud of them."

Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Florence played with emotion for four quarters and took the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons finished with 465 yards of total offense, with Shawn Southward running for 115 yards on 14 carries and quarterback Chad Willis throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

"It hurts because we tried so hard," Southward said. "We feel like we deserved to win, but things like that happen. Everybody played with great emotion and intensity. We played well, but we just came up short."

Florence appeared on its way to pulling the upset after a fumble recovery by Phil Claiborne set up a scoring drive. The Falcons went 31 yards in six plays with Southward powering his way into the end zone on a 4-yard run. Willis then ran for the two-point conversion and Florence led 28-21 with 10:35 remaining.

After forcing a Hoover punt, Florence was quickly on the move again. The Falcons reached the Hoover 21 before the drive stalled and Willis was intercepted on a fourth-down pass.

Taking over at their own 16 with 4:23 to play, the Bucs faced a fourth-and-six from the 20. Quarterback Tyler Ray ran for the first down to keep the drive alive and later hit Barefield over the middle and the senior wide receiver broke a tackle and went the distance for a 63-yard scoring play to tie it at 28 with 2:38 to go.

After forcing a Florence punt, Hoover took over at its 33 with 1:02 remaining. Ray had completions to 22 and 24 yards to Barefield to put Hoover in field goal position and Craig's 32-yard attempt split the uprights to give the Bucs the win.

"I don't know that I've ever seen a better atmosphere for a high school game," Hoover coach Rush Propst said. "Florence showed so much guts and determination and just gave an unbelievable effort. This kind of game is what high school football is all about."

Hoover led 7-6 at halftime and went up 14-6 early in the second quarter. But Southward scored on a 42-yard run and later on a 17-yard pass from Willis to put Florence up 20-14 later in the third quarter. Moments later, Hoover went up 21-20 on a 60-yard scoring pass from Ray to Brandon Harris.

"There was no quit in our guys tonight," Briggs said. "We played a great game, and in my mind the better team did not win. But we've laid a nice cornerstone for our program and now we have to continue to build on it."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.

florence

You mean Hoover

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Hoover is the Bucs.

[CircleDrill 178]

florence

A huge crowd constantly cheered, yelled and rattled noisemakers, rocking Braly in a manner that it perhaps had never seen before.

Dunno about that. The first time UNA won the Div 2 National Championship in 1993 it was pretty darn rowdy. There was also a game where UNA scored 3 TD's in the 4th quarter to come back and win the National Championship. That one was rowdy too but nothing like that first one.