BY DANIEL SCHMIDT | FOR THE OBSERVER
PHENIX CITY — Phenix City — Entering Friday night’s semi-final playoff game, Hoover had defeated Central all four times the two teams had played since 1978. The Red Devils (10-2) emphatically reversed that trend, defeating the Buccaneers (10-3) 17-7 as Andrew Alford completed 18 of 28 passes for177 yards and two touchdowns and Daylyn Upshaw caught nine passes for 97 yards and a TD.
Yet it was the defense that stole the show, recording three interceptions, three sacks and allowing just 218 total yards of offense en route to holding Hoover to a season-low point total.
The reward? A rematch of last year’s Alabama High School Athletic Association 7A state championship game with the Thompson Warriors (10-3) on Dec. 4 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
After the game, Central head football coach Patrick Nix credited his seniors’ resilience in the face of mounting injuries and added his team is “blessed” and “honored” to make its fifth state championship appearance in seven years.
“It’s been a rough season with injuries and different guys going down and having to step up. Same thing tonight: we had different guys stepping up and different guys going down,” he said. “We beat a very good football team tonight. Hoover’s very, very good. We found a way to play better and make plays and hats off to the defense. I thought our defense played absolutely incredible. Great plan, great effort, did a great job tonight, and overall a great team win.”
With the state championship game on the horizon, Nix then previewed yet another title matchup with the Warriors.
“We know what Thompson is. I won’t sleep very good if I spend too much time thinking about them tonight, so I’ll worry about them later. Martin does a great job. They’re very talented, the scheme is going to be incredible,” Nix said. “We’ll definitely have our work cut out for us, but we’ll show up and play.”
While most of the game resulted in a grinding defensive war of attrition, much of the scoring occurred in the first quarter.
After a holding penalty negated a long return on the game’s opening kickoff, Central began the drive on its own 34 yard line. The Red Devils looked to establish their aerial attack early as Alford attempted six passes during the first seven plays, including 10-yard and 13-yard passes to Mychal Bass and Branden Brown, respectively.
Central eventually went up 7-0 after Alford escaped a surefire sack and completed a 12-play, four-minute, 44-second-long opening drive with a 7-yard TD pass to Upshaw.
Hoover then answered Central with a long touchdown drive of its own, marching 74 yards down the field in 12 plays highlighted by Demarion Gardner’s 22-yard reception and JR Mosley’s 2-yard TD run.
By that point, the Buccaneers had already scored their final points of the evening with 3:08 left in the first quarter.
Following a sideline warning on Hoover, the Red Devils took possession on their own 35 yard line. Despite a promising start to the drive, including a 19-yard reception by Upshaw, an untimely holding call and Donovan Crow’s -1-yard run on 3rd and 2 forced Central to take a field goal with 11:13 left in the second quarter.
The early warning signs began on Hoover’s ensuing drive as Mac Beason — who also punted for the Buccaneers — threw three straight incompletions and gifted the Red Devils possession at the Hoover 48 following a 28-yard punt.
Ultimately, that is all it would take for Central to wrestle control of the game away from Hoover for the rest of the game.
Despite starting only 48 yards from the end zone, the Red Devils ground out a 10-play, 4:07 long drive to go up 17-7 after Alford found Bass for a 3-yard TD pass. That concluded the game’s scoring with 6:38 left to play in the second quarter.
Following a second straight Hoover three-and-out, Central again started with good field position as it took possession at its own 41 yard line. Although the drive looked promising at first, negative run plays and a holding penalty on 2nd and 12 stalled momentum and forced the Red Devils to punt.
With only 1:11 to play until halftime, it initially appeared the Buccaneers were content to run the ball and run the clock out. Yet after back-to-back Mosley runs gained 14 yards, Beason’s threw his first interception with 0:28 left before halftime.
Central’s bid to extend its lead fell short two plays later after the referees missed an obvious pass interference call on the last play of the half, and both teams jogged to their locker rooms as the crowd erupted with boos.
After halftime, Hoover looked to turn the ship around after an explosive kickoff return and excessive celebration penalty started the Buccaneers’ drive at their own 47 yard line. That would be the last time Hoover celebrated however as Beason threw his second interception of the game three plays later.
Following a quick Red Devils three-and-out and crucial 36-yard punt from Collin Frieberg, the Buccaneers took posession at their own 6 yard line with 9:11 left to play in the third quarter. That drive would gain 13 yards on seven plays, and Hoover was forced to punt the ball still deep in its half of the field.
In what was becoming a recurring theme, Central received the ball at the Buccaneers’ 38 yard line with 5:20 left in the third quarter. The Red Devils, however, did not take advantage of the excellent field position after a false start penalty halted momentum and obvious running plays lost yardage.
On the next drive, Hoover appeared to take some momentum back from Central, relying on big plays from Jonah Winston and Jeremiah Tabb to move the ball 59 yards in five plays. Yet the Red Devils’ defense and consecutive penalties on the Buccaneers halted further progress, and a wild 6-yard scramble by Beason failed to convert on 4th and 20.
Smelling blood in the water, Central took over on downs at its own 27 yard line with nine seconds left to play in the third quarter. Despite the drive not resulting in any points, six straight running plays managed to drain nearly four minutes and 23 seconds off of the clock.
With 7:46 left in the fourth quarter and down 10 points, Hoover faced a desperate situation after a 45-yard Frieberg punt pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 3 yard line. Soon after, Beason threw his third interception of the game with 5:46 left to play, effectively ending any chance to get back into the game.
At that point, all that stood between the Red Devils and victory was a quick four-play drive and a ferocious pass rush that forced a quarterback change on Hoover’s final drive.
