Prattville 'bucs' Hoover

By Jimmy White
Progress writer

Prattville rolled through the sound and fury at Legion Field Saturday afternoon en route to a stunning 35-21 dethroning of defending state champion Hoover.

The Lions tossed aside the mythical invincibility of the Buccaneers and made a statement to the thousands of Prattville faithful that their team was indeed destiny's darlings.

Head coach Bill Clark told the large gathering at a press conference following the presentation of the state championship trophy that the victory belonged to "our assistant coaches, the players, all 130 of them, to our school's administration, to our fans, to the community who supports our program.

"We have been knocking at the door for the past three years and we finally knocked that door down and reached our goal," Clark said.

Clark added that his team had to overcome a lot in its quest for the school's second state championship.

"Give our kids credit for the way they handled those tough times," he said. "We lost two former players who gave their lives in the war in Iraq, then the tragic death of Coach (Lorenzo) Pickett, one of our assistant coaches, on Thanksgiving Day. Through all of it we remained a family. These kids had a lot to play for, a lot of reasons to reach down."

Senior quarterback Larry Smith, won the Most Valuable Player Award, said, "We came into the game calm and played relaxed. We were kind of use to playing under a lot of pressure. Our coaches had a great gameplan. It's a great way to end our season and my career."

Prattville's tenacious defense continuously chased and harassed Hoover quarterback Ross Wilson, sacking him six times for losses totaling 52 yards. The defense set the tone for the game very early.

Prattville won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Kicking off to the Bucs, Wilson was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down by Reggie Dozer at the Hoover 20. Jordan Means lined up to punt , but his punt was blocked by Xavier Wright, all 5-4, 140 pounds. The ball bounced into the Hoover end zone, where Zach Brownell recovered for a Prattville touchdown. Just one minute and four seconds into the game, Prattville led 7-0 fter Brian Egan kicked the first of his five extra points. Prattville never trailed.

On Hoover's third possession, Means' punt was downed at the Prattville two-yard line. Mired deep in its own territory, Prattville flexed its offensive muscles and began a 98-yard drive that would end in a touchdown.

The drive got momentum after Hoover jumped offsides on third down and four, giving the Lions a first down at their own 12. Smith then raced around right end for 14 yards, followed by a 2-yard run around right end to the Hoover 48. Smith hooked up with Dekendrick Moncrief on two passes -- one for 17 yards and the other for 12 yards. On the last play of the first quarter, Justin Albert ran to the Hoover 13.

On the first play of the second quarter , Albert raced around right end for the second Lions touchdown. The 12-play drive consumed four minutes and 27 seconds.

Hoover's Michael Hall returned Egan's kickoff 16 yards to the Hoover 28. The Buccaneers began a 16-play, 72-yard drive that took up 6:17 of the quarter. Wilson scored on a quarterback draw from 7 yards out. Means kicked the first of his three extra points.

Prattville answered Hoover's touchdown on its ensuing possession. Albert took Juan Siles' kickoff and returned it 13 yards to the Lions 22. Methodically, the Lions rolled downfield, covering 78 yards in 13 plays while milking five minutes and 17 seconds off the clock, leaving only 19 seconds on the first-half clock.

Smith found Dekendrick Moncrief in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Moncrief made a spectacular catch just inches inside the end-zone marker. Prattville led at halftime, 21-7.

Prattville had 105 yards rushing at halftime, while Hoover had 68. The Lions had 67 yards passing to the Bucs 48.

The Lions took the second half kickoff and appeared to be on the way to another time-consuming drive to start the half. However, on fourth and one from the Hoover 44, Larry Smith was stopped short of the first down at the Hoover 44 by big Josh Chapman.

The Bucs took over and quickly (two minutes and 5 seconds) scored, trimming the Lions' lead to 21-14. Dennis King rushed over from the 5-yard line for the touchdown.

On the ensuing possession, the Lions went three and out as Hoover's defense stiffened. Josh Allen's punt was fair caught by Aaron Bowden at the Hoover 38. Hoover reeled off two first downs to the Lions 35. Then on first down, Terrell Jackson intercepted Wilson's pass at the Prattville 21.

Prattville picked up a first down on a 15-yard blast up the middle by Albert. Smith hit Quaylan Moncrief for first down, but the Lions drew a 10-yard holding penalty back to the 29. The drive bogged down when Smith was chased out of pocket at the 16.

Allen was called upon to punt again and boomed a 38-yard punt to Aaron Bowden at the Hoover 42. Bowden bobbled the punt and Ricardo Bates recovered for Prattville at the Hoover 38 with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

On third down, Smith found Dekendrick Moncrief at the goal line for an apparent touchdown. However, an offensive pass interference call nullifyied the touchdown and the Lions lost a down. Allen again answered the call with a 43-yard punt to the Hoover 14.

The Bucs picked up one first down and then were forced to punt. Means' punt was downed at the Prattville 34. The Lions moved 66 yards in six plays to take a 28-14 lead. Albert got the touchdown with a 14-yard blast up the middle.

Hoover took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Lions 12-yard line with 5:52 left in the game. King rushed up the middle for 5 yards to the Prattville 7. Wilson was then sacked by Terrell Jackson for a 9-yard loss. Wilson then lost four yards on a keeper when he was sacked by Reggie Dozier. On the next play, Wilson was sacked by Nick Gentry for a 12-yard loss and Prattville took over.

On third down, Albert broke clear over left tackle for 64 yards and a Lions touchdown with 2:36 left tin the game. That score gave the Lions a 35-14 lead.

Hoover scored a late touchdown against the Lions reserves, making the final score 35-21. New AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese presented the 2006 state championship trophy to the Prattville team in the postgame ceremony.