No. 12 South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) at Hoover (Ala.)Since
the beginning of the millennium, there aren't two high school programs
in the Deep South that have enjoyed more success than the combatants in
this matchup. South Panola is the defending national champion in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and owns seven of the last eight Mississippi
large-school state titles and only two losses since the start of the
2003 season. They already have one game under their belts this year, a
37-17 win over defending 5A champion West Point.
Hoover has only
seven total starters back from its ninth team in 11 seasons to reach
the 6A state championship game. Despite the inexperience, coach Josh
Niblett says this year's group has great work ethic and a lot of team
chemistry. This is the eighth game against an out-of-state power for the
Bucs since 2005. They went 4-3 in the previous games.
Mitch Stephens: South Panola 27, Hoover 24
Steve Montoya: South Panola 35, Hoover 28
Stephen Spiewak: South Panola 28, Hoover 17
Kevin Askeland: Hoover 24, South Panola 21
Jamie DeMoney: Hoover 27, South Panola 26
South Panola doesn't rebuild, they reload.
Photo by Chris Evans
