Hoover 48, McGill-Toolen Catholic 20
TUSCALOOSA – Hoover High School posted 27 points in the second quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium Wednesday night en route  to a 48-20 victory McGill-Toolen Catholic (13-1) to claim the AHSAA Class 7A state championship for the third time in four seasons.
    Senior quarterback Jalen Parker completed 11-of-15 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns to earn MVP honors as the Bucs (11-3) added state championship No. 13 to the Hoover trophy case. Coach Josh Niblett, who has coached the last six, said this year’s squad completed a feat in style, beating three straight undefeated teams in the playoffs to capture the 2017 crown.
Hoover took the lead midway through the first quarter when junior Larry McCammon scored on a 16-yard run. Barrett Pickering kicked the first of six extra points for a 7-0 lead. Coach Earnest Hill’s Yellow Jackets made it 7-3 with 31 seconds left in the quarter on Chase Mahler’s 28-yard field goal.
    Parker and star receivers Shedrick Jackson and George Pickens took over in the second quarter, however. Pickens hauled in a 7-yard pass from Parker early in the second period to put Hoover up 14-3. Mahler added his second field goal, a 24-yarder, with 4:24 remaining in the second period to close the gap to 14-6.
    The Bucs dominated the final four minutes of the half with Jackson hauling in TD passes of 70 and 16 yards and Pickens grabbing a 54-yard scoring connection. Vonte Brackett added a 4-yard scoring run as Hoover built a 34-6 lead by intermission.
    Jackson, who finished with six catches for 160 yards, snagged his second TD reception on a 16-yard pass late in the third period and Jacquez Allen scored on a 9-yard run with 9:31 left to play to make it 48-6.
    McGill-Toolen scored twice in the final 6:06 with Khalil Nettles racing 14 yards for a TD and Shelton Layman connecting with Turner McLaughlin for a 75-yard touchdown pass.
     Hoover finished with 26 first downs, 281 yards passing, 230 rushing and 511 total yards.
     Pickens finished with two catches for 61 yards and two scores. McCammon also had 106 yards rushing on 13 carries and Brackett had 59 on 10 attempts.  Noah Williams also had a 48-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
     Layman finished 20-of-32 passing for 210 yards and one TD for the Jackets, who totaled 326 yards and 18 first downs on the night. McLaughlin had four catches for 105 yards and Carlos Evans grabbed four receptions for 32 yards.
    Hoover’s defense was led Myles Spurling with nine tackles, Isaiah Hubbard and Greg Russell with eight each, Adrian Hill with seven and Devon Scott with six, including three for 24 yards in losses. McGill-Toolen’s Chris Hites had 13 tackles and Korian Wilson had 11 to lead the Jackets.
    The Bucs previous state titles came in 2016, 2014,  2013, 2012, 2009, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1977 and a co-championship in 1982.  McGill-Toolen has reached the 7A finals three years in a row with a state crown in 2015 and runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017.
    The Super 7 State Championships continue Thursday with Class 3A, 1A and 5A championships at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., respectively. Randolph County (13-1) and Hillcrest-Evergreen kick off the action in the 3A finals.  All games will be televised lived over the Raycom Media Network of stations across the state. For details, go to www.pathtotheplayoffs.com. The NFHS Network will live-stream the Raycom production over its subscriber-based network, and the games will also be live-streamed on You Tube.