Hoover QB Throws For 277-Yards In First Half

In a 49-7 route of the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats on the road, the Hoover Buccaneers and senior quarterback Bennett Meredith remained undefeated heading into a Week 10 battle with No. 1 Thompson.

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The game itself was all but over by halftime as the Bucs took a 42-7 lead into the locker room after 24 minutes region of play.

The opening score came off of a broken pass play which lead Meredith to a seven-yard rushing score, a little over four minutes into the game. After a Wildcat three-and-out, the Bucs took advantage of the field position and added to the early lead with another seven-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Ahamari Williams.

Hoover took a 21-0 lead – a minute into the second quarter – with Meredith's first passing touchdown of the night, a play-action to senior wide receiver Cotton Peters.

To their credit, County High did manage to work up their first response with a 40-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Brax Garrison to senior C.J. McGee.

But this did little to slow down Meredith and the Bucs, who managed to score three additional unanswered touchdowns before the close to the second quarter, initiating a running clock.

The second half's opening kick-off was returned for another score by Hoover, but the 49-7 lead would prove to be enough for Bucs head coach Josh Niblett as he shut down the offense for the night. Bennett Meredith ended his outing early in the third quarter 16-for-19 with 277 yards through the air, four passing touchdowns and a rushing score for good measure.

The Hoover Buccaneers, now 9-0, move on to one of the state's most anticipated matchups for 2021, a test at home against undefeated No. 1 Thompson on October 22. Their most recent meeting saw Thompson knock the Bucs out of the 2020 AHSAA playoffs en route to the Warriors' second 7A state championship in a row.

Hoover's last win of the yearly main event came during the regular season in September of 2018.

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