Bucs Take On Pinson Valley In A Battle Of State Champs

HOOVER, AL - The Hoover Met will be the site of Patch's Game of the Week, and one of the most ballyhooed high school football games the state may see this season, as the defending 7A state champion Hoover Bucs take on the defending 6A champs Pinson Valley. The Saturday match-up will be televised on ESPN at 11 a.m.

Pinson Valley comes into the game off an undefeated season - the first in the Indians' history - and is led by one of the top quarterback prospects in the country in Auburn commit Bo Nix. The son of PVHS head coach and former Auburn QB Pat Nix, Bo Nix threw for 2,872 yards last season and tossed 36 touchdown passes to only four interceptions.

(Note: Throughout the 2018 football season, Patch will feature a local Game of the Week for the area. The game recap will be in Saturday's morning newsletter each week)

The Indians return five starters from its 2017 squad, and six starters on the defensive side of the ball - led by senior DL Joel Parker. They start the season ranked No. 1 on the Alabama Sports Writers Association 6A rankings.

Hoover will start the season with a new face under center in 2018, as quarterback Robby Ashford makes his debut as the starting signal-caller. Although he has not started a game for the Bucs and is recovering from a shoulder injury over the summer, Ashford is ranked as the No. 4 dual threat quarterback in the country by 247Sports.

Ashford will have plenty of able targets this season, namely speedy wide receiver George Pickens (committed to Auburn) who is the 7th ranked receiver in the country, according to 247Sports. The Bucs will also lean heavily on senior running back Larry McCammon, who has already received offers from Iowa, Ole Miss and Troy, among others.

Both coaches - Pinson Valley's Nix and Hoover's Josh Niblett - were named Coach of the Year in their respective divisions last year.

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