Hoover’s defense came through in a big way as the Class 7A, No. 4 Bucs shut out No. 3 Thompson 9-0 to win the Region 3 championship.

Hoover scored on a 1-yard touchdown run from LaMarion McCammon in the first quarter, and defensive lineman Andrew Parrish tackled Thompson quarterback Zach Sims in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter.

Hoover takes a 9-game win streak into the Class 7A playoffs in two weeks, improving to 9-1, 7-0. Thompson dropped to 7-2, 6-1. Both will host teams from Region 4 to start the playoffs.

Hoover also got key interceptions from Jay Avery and Jordan Norman deep in its territory to stop key Thompson drives, and after Thompson blocked a punt to begin the third quarter, the Bucs defense held and Thompson missed a field goal.

It was the first time since Oct. 21, 2016, that Thompson had been shut out, and that loss came to Hoover by a 20-0 score.

“I felt like we had things working in the first half,” Hoover coach Wade Waldrop said. “At halftime, we decided we’d make an adjustment. We’d punt the ball all night until they showed they could get the ball in the end zone. Super proud of our defense.”

Key moment: Thompson’s first two drives of the third quarter were ones they want to forget. Tyler Hicks blocked a punt that the Warriors recovered inside the 10, but they could not get in the end zone and a 21-yard field goal attempt went off the upright.

Star of the Game: The Bucs’ defense. Although it gave up 310 total yards, they made the big plays when it counted. Along with the two interceptions, Hoover stopped Thompson on fourth down and short plays twice in the first quarter.

Stat sheet: McCammon led Hoover’s rushing attack with 61 yards on 15 carries. Zach Sims played most of the game at quarterback for Thompson, but it was eighth grader Trent Seaborn who had the better numbers. Seaborn played on the last series in each half, completing 9-of-14 passes for 115 yards in hurry-up action. Sims was held to just 7 completions on 16 attempts and he was intercepted twice. AJ Green ran for 132 yards on 21 carries for the Warriors.

By the Numbers: Hoover sacked Thompson’s quarterbacks six times. This is Hoover’s 24th win to just seven losses in the series. Thompson had a 7-game win streak snapped.

They said it: “We were getting pressure on the quarterback and pressure on the offensive line. We prepared for this all week. We did what we were supposed to do. The D-Line showed up.” – Hoover defensive lineman Andrew Parrish

“We kept our game plan simple. we really wanted to stop the run and everyone executed their job. The D-Line did a great job and when the D-Line does a great job, it looks good on everybody.” – Hoover defensive back Jay Avery

“In these games, you can’t get in the red zone and not perform. In two phases of the game, we played well enough to win. Where we didn’t play well enough to win was on my end of the ball. When they watch some film, there’s a lot of opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.” – Thompson coach Mark Freeman

Up next: Both teams are off next week and will host first-round playoff games in two weeks.