Schools
New Hoover High Football Coach To Debut At 2022 Kickoff Classic
The Bucs will face Auburn in the 2022 season opener for both teams. Hoover has yet to hire a successor to former coach Josh Niblett.
HOOVER, AL —The AHSAA announced Sunday that the Hoover High Buccaneers football team will open the 2022 season against Auburn High School in the Kickoff Classic hosted by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA).
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on August 19 at the Crampton Bowl in Montgomery. A day earlier, the same stadium will host Chelsea versus Helena in the Kickoff Classic opener. It will be the 17th edition of the event.
Helena vs. Chelsea and Hoover vs. Auburn Games Selected for 17th AHSAA Kickoff Classic https://t.co/9NMLJaIRjH
— AHSAA (@AHSAAUpdates) January 9, 2022
Both games will be televised over the AHSAA TV Network and live-streamed over the NFHS Network. The AHSAA Radio Network also will broadcast both contests over its statewide radio network, according to the AHSAA.
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"We are elated to have two games of this magnitude lined up for the 2022 Kickoff Classic," said AHSADCA Director Brandon Dean. "We are grateful to these four schools from such strong high school sports communities for committing to this year's event. We are looking forward to seeing these teams usher in a new season of high school athletics."
For Hoover, the game will mark the debut for its yet-to-be-named head coach. Josh Niblett resigned as Bucs' coach after the 2021 season to take over the program at Gainesville High School in Georgia.
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In Niblett's 14 seasons in charge, Hoover went 171-26 and won six state titles —2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017—and finished runner-up three times —2008, 2010, 2011.
Hoover, which went 12-1 last season, has appeared in the Kickoff Classic on four other occasions, winning all four times. The Bucs' last appearance in the game was in 2019, when they defeated Central-Phenix City 17-14.
Auburn also went 12-1 last season and reached the Class 7A semifinals. This will be the Tigers' second appearance in the Kickoff Classic. They beat Spain Park 30-3 in 2010.
In recent decades, Auburn has reached the state finals on two occasions, losing to Thompson 29-28 in the 7A finals in 2020, and falling to Hoover 20-3 in the 6A finals in 2013.
In 2021, the Kickoff Classic featured Handley beating Guntersville 55-21 and Dothan defeating Bob Jones 42-32.
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