Hewitt-Trussville used a stout defense and hardy offense for a 40-7 victory over Hoover in Friday’s Class 7A quarterfinal matchup at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium.

The ninth-ranked Huskies (9-3) rushed for more than 300 yards, amassing 490 yards of total offense, and held the Bucs to 158 yards and only nine first downs.

The Huskies marched swiftly into Hoover territory on their opening drive, but turned the ball over on downs inside the red zone then scored on their next six possessions, beginning with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Floyd to Jacob Serena, and went up 9-0 following a bad snap from Hoover that sailed out of the end zone for a safety.

Hewitt-Trussville’s Trip Ward added a 26-yard field goal at the end of the opening quarter and Floyd increased the advantage to 19-0 on a 5-yard rushing score. Floyd directed another scoring drive on the Huskies’ final possession of the first half and capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run.

The Huskies forced a punt on Hoover’s first possession of the second half and drove 85 yards in 12 plays to go up 33-7 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Floyd to Jadon Loving.

Michael Igbinoghene picked off the Bucs on the ensuing drive and Jaqson Melton scored three plays later on an 18-yard touchdown run.

Hoover (5-7) was never able to put together a consistent drive and scored its only points on a 2-yard touchdown run from Bradley Shaw following a successful fake punt just shy of midfield.

Star of the game: Floyd. The senior quarterback conducted an offensive masterpiece for the Huskies and finished 13-of-17 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 21 times for 119 yards and a pair of scores.

“It gives us a lot of confidence and we know we can beat Thompson. We played really well tonight and took care of business. It was a great win,” he said.

Did you know? Hewitt-Trussville advances to the semifinal round of the AHSAA playoffs for the first time since moving into Class 7A a decade ago.

By the numbers: 2, the number of consecutive wins for Hewitt-Trussville in the series, which Hoover leads 22-6 overall. …1, the number of third-down conversions in eight attempts for the Hoover offense.

Stat sheet: Hewitt-Trussville – Melton had 15 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, followed by Kennedy Mitchell with 10 rushing attempts for 75 yards. Loving led the receiving effort with nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, and Serena had two receptions for 33 yards and a score. Hoover – Jonah Winston was 3-of-11 for 36 yards and an interception, while Kamal Amerson had nine carries for 74 yards. Fred Dunson had 13 yards on three touches and Shaw scored Hoover’s only touchdown on his lone rushing attempt.

Coachspeak: “It’s a great win because it’s hard to beat anyone twice in the same season. We came out here and played tough, and a win like this shows an incredible job by our team tonight. (Defense) was the key, they did a great job the entire game. Heck of a job by those guys and they set the tone early.” — Hewitt-Trussville’s Josh Floyd

What’s next? Hewitt-Trussville advances to the semifinal round of the Class 7A playoffs, where they will face second-ranked Thompson.