High school football: Five reasons to watch No. 15 Thompson vs. Hoover on NFHS Network

A regular season finale Friday between No. 15 Thompson and No. 26 Hoover not only pits the top two high school football teams in Alabama, it may just be a preview of the Class 7A state championship. Both teams enter the showdown carrying 9-0 records.

How to watch

Date: Friday, Oct. 23. Time: 7 p.m. CDT
Location: Thompson High School (Alabaster)
Streaming: NFHS Network
Follow: MaxPreps live scoring

Here are five reasons to tune into the NFHS Network for Friday's game: 

1. The quarterbacks: Hoover's Josh Lundy, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, is climbing into recruiting charts largely due to his stellar senior season, which includes 2,209 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and no interceptions. Likewise, Thompson's Conner Harrell is rising even faster on the Class of 2022 charts. He replaced 2019 first-team All-State Sawyer Pate, who is now at Auburn and led the Warriors last season to their first state title since 1982. Blessed with a big, accurate arm and superb speed, Harrell has completed 74 percent of his passes (145-of-197) for 2,318 yards and 26 TDs and one interception. Combined that's 4,627 passing yards, 48 touchdowns and one interception. 2. Thompson defensive end Jeremiah Alexander: Ranked the No. 1 junior recruit in the state, the 6-2, 235-pounder has pretty much destroyed offensive linemen during his nearly three seasons on varsity, including 18 tackles for loss and three sacks this season. He's got 13 college offers but has already committed to Alabama.

3. New rivalry: It used to be lopsided with Hoover, a 16-time state champion since 2000, owning the series until Thompson coach Mark Freeman was hired in 2014. The Buccaneers won the first 21 games in the series before Freeman led Thompson to a 32-25 win during the 2017 regular season. Hoover avenged the loss 31-12 in the 7A playoff semifinals the same year. Since then, Thompson has won three out of four, including two straight last season when it captured its second state crown.

4. Balanced offenses: Hoover is averaging 447 yards per game — 193 on the ground and 254 via the air — including powerful, swift tailback Jaylen Taylor (577 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and receivers Malik Thomas (45 catches, 702 yards, 10 touchdowns) and sophomore RJ Hamilton (40 catches, 767 yards, 7 TDs). Thompson (466 yards per game) counters with weapons all over the field, including South Carolina commit Sam Reynolds (566 total yards, nine TDs) and leading receiver J.B. Mitchell III (49 catches, 798 yards, six TDs).

5. Stingy defenses: Thompson has recorded two shutouts and allowed seven points in two other games. Besides Alexander, Eastern Kentucky commit Gregory Green is another top defensive lineman and cornerback Tony Mitchell is one of the top sophomores in the state. Hoover also has two shutouts and allowed single touchdowns in two other games. Linebackers Marcus Williams, a Rice commit, and Josh Smith lead that group.