Another high school football season, another Region 3 Hoover-Thompson game and, perhaps, another prelude to a Class 7A state playoff showdown.

In head coach Mark Freeman’s nine complete seasons at Thompson, his Warriors have four region titles and four state championships (but all those weren’t in the same seasons). In that span, Hoover has four region championships and two state crowns – both under Josh Niblett who left the Bucs after the 2021 season for Gainesville, Ga., with six total state titles in 14 seasons with the Bucs.