Hoover cruised to its second straight Class 6A championship behind a gritty defense and great special teams play to close out the AHSAA Super 6 Football Championships Friday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Tanner defeated Washington County to repeat in 2A and Oneonta captured the 4A title with a win over Charles Henderson.

In Thursday’s games, Class 5A Spanish Fort won its third championship in four years, Class 1A Pickens County rolled to its first state crown and Madison Academy captured its second straight Class 3A title.

A total of 23,981 attended the three Friday contests bringing the total Super 6 attendance to 45,328.

CLASS 6A

Hoover 20, Auburn 3

The Bucs (15-0) of Coach Josh Niblett closed out their second straight 15-0 season and extended the AHSAA’s current longest football winning streak to 30 games with the victory.

Micah Bagley blocked an Auburn punt late in the first quarter and Chris DeMoss recovered it in the end zone for Hoover’s first touchdown. That touchdown was the only score on the board until Coach Tim Carter’s Tigers (13-2) cut the lead to 7-3 with Sage Ledbetter’s 17th field goal of the season. The 35-yard kick came with 6:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Hoover quarterback Jack Hutcheson connected with Bradrick Shaw for a 39-yard touchdown play five minutes later to make it 13-3. The Bucs closed out the scoring in the final quarter with Shaw’s 1-yard run – a TD set up by a fumble caused by Marlon Humphrey and recovered by Bagley at the Auburn 23.

Auburn’s defense also played well – limiting Hoover to just six first downs and 138 total yards while keeping the ball for 28:38 of the 48 total minutes.

Shaw, named the game’s MVP, was Hoover’s leading rusher with 53 yards on 21 carries. Hutcheson was 4-of-9 passing for 51 yards.

Tyus Flakes had 127 yards rushing on 28 carries to pace Auburn, which out-rushed Hoover 146 yards to 87. Brandon Northcutt was 4-of-10 passing for 39 yards, but was sacked four times for 45 yards in lost yardage.

Jason McCray had 12 tackles with one sack for a 16-yard loss to pace Hoover’s defense. Darrell Williams also had 11 tackles.

Randy Hooks and Deion Heard led the Tigers with seven tackles each. Rashaan Evans had five tackles with two behind the line for 16 yards lost.

Hoover’s championship was the school’s 10th and eighth in the Super 6.

CLASS 2A

Tanner 21, Washington County 13

Tanner (13-1) made the plays defensively when it needed them and edged Washington County in a rematch of the 2012 Class 2A finals when the Rattlers prevailed 28-14.

The Bulldogs (13-2) drove deep into Tanner territory late in the fourth quarter but Tanner defensive back Deshun Freeman intercepted a pass at the Rattlers’ 14-yard line with 1:43 remaining to stop the drive.

Coach Laron White’s hard-running offense was able chew up all but the final three seconds before Coach Chris Wilson’s Bulldogs got the ball back at their own 40-yard line. With one last play, the pass by Kerrigan Pennington was batted away to seal the win.

Corey Donaldson opened the game by returning the kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown to give Washington County a quick 7-0 lead.

Tanner struck just as quickly late in the first quarter when Hayden Stephens bolted 45 yards for a touchdown on first down after the defense got the ball back following a Bulldogs punt. The Bulldogs took the lead into halftime when Diamante Green scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter. The extra point was missed, however, and Washington County led 13-7.

Stephens, who rushed for 159 yards on 23 carries to earn MVP honors, capped a 13-play, 66-yard drive midway through the third quarter to tie the game. Alan Rios kicked the extra point as Tanner took the lead for good. Tiquaveious Mayberry’s 1-yard TD run three minutes later closed out the scoring. Stephens had a 58-yard run to set up the touchdown.

DeAnthony Holcombe led Washington County with 79 yards on 23 rush attempts. Pennington finished 7-of-16 passing for 85 yards with Tyler Green snagging two for 42 yards, including one 30-yard gain.

Freeman finished with 12 tackles in addition to his pick and returned three punts for 51 yards, including one for 34 to lead Tanner’s defense. Mayberry also had 11 tackles, and Johnathan Fletcher and Shamaud Baker had 10 each.

Deandra Smith had 12 stops and Cedric Chapman 10 to lead the Bulldogs’ defense. Chapman had three tackles resulting in 20 yards in losses.

CLASS 4A

Oneonta 28, Charles Henderson 10

Oneonta (14-1) reached the Super 6 finals in 2011 and 2012 and finished as runner-up both times. The 2013 trip was made even more special since it was played on Coach Don Jacobs’ birthday.

Avery Reid scored three touchdowns for Oneonta, which totaled 326 yards on the ground with runs of 5, 2 and 4 yards. He finished with 87 yards on six carries. Senior Terrell McDaniel led all Redskins runners with 163 yards on 19 carries.

Class 4A Game MVP Ko Powell added 82 yards on 16 attempts and was 8-of-16 passing for 127 yards and one TD. Brock Latta hauled in the 38-yard touchdown pass from Powell in the final quarter to finish with 82 yards on four catches.

Coach Mike Dean’s Trojans (14-1), making their first Super 6 appearance, went to the air for a season-high 40 pass attempts with junior quarterback Austin Ingram completing 25 for 244 yards. Isom Coley had five catches for 87 yards and Kenyatta Jones five for 58 yards.

John Johnson led the Trojans with 51 yards rushing on 13 carries. His 3-yard run in the fourth quarter was Charles Henderson’s only touchdown. Johnson also had four receptions for 30 yards and a 64-yard punt return. Trojans place-kicker Baylor Barnes kicked a 26-yard field goal early in the second period.

Ethan Boyd had 11 tackles and an interception to pace Oneonta’s defense. Avery Reid had an interception and 10 tackles and Thomas Boyd added nine tackles, including three for losses.

Marquis Simmons led Charles Henderson with nine tackles. Demario Harris, Richard McBryde, Jermaine Parker and Coby Smith had seven stops each.

CLASS 5A

Spanish Fort 35, Muscle Shoals 14

Spanish Fort (15-0) scored 28 second-half points on the way to its second straight Class 5A state championship and third in four years. Coach Mark Freeman’s Toros also posted their 24th win in a row to finish unbeaten.

Mike Howard scored on a 2-yard run to climax a six-play, 78-yard drive in the first quarter to give Spanish Fort a 7-0 lead. The Trojans of Coach Scott Basden tied the game on Zach Sullivan’s 2-yard run in the second quarter.

That’s how it stood until late in the third period when the Toros scored twice in a four-minute span to take a 21-7 lead. Braxton Shabel scored on a 2-yard run and Class 5A Game MVP Tyler Johnston tacked on a 9-yard TD run.

LaDarrell Pettway’s 79-yard punt return with 10:44 to go was the clincher for the Toros. Four minutes later, Maurice Cole recovered a misplayed Muscle Shoals snap in the end zone to score a defensive touchdown for Spanish Fort and close out the Toros’ scoring.

Luke Smothers hauled in a 16-yard pass from his younger brother Landon Smothers with 2:38 left for Muscle Shoals’ final TD.

Johnston, who rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries, was 10-of-15 passing for 219 yards with a 69-yard toss to Pettway to set up one TD. Pettway finished with four catches for 98 yards and returned four punts for 92 yards.

Shabel was the Toros’ leading rusher with 57 yards on 10 attempts. Place-kicker Alex Theodore kicked all six kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and also punted four times for a 34.8 average, one pinning Muscle Shoals inside its own 15.

Sullivan paced the Trojans with 90 yards rushing on 16 carries. Landon Smothers finished 8-of-15 passing for 74 yards. Punter Rhett Morrison also had seven punts for a 39.3 average.

Garrett Isbell had 13 tackles, Dylan Montgomery added 11 and Damarion King 10 for Muscle Shoals. Tomas Johnston and Tommie Jackson led Spanish Fort with seven tackles each. The Toros’ defense had seven stops for losses.

CLASS 1A

Pickens County 38, Maplesville 18

Brown set a Super 6 record with 329 yards rushing on 26 carries to lead Pickens County (15-0) over Maplesville (14-1).

The junior runner, who finished the season with 38 rushing touchdowns, scored three times on runs of 2, 34 and 54 yards for Coach Patrick Plott’s unbeaten squad. His last TD came on a fake punt in the fourth period to break the game open and gave him the state single-season record for overall touchdowns (51).

Devonte Simon added 100 yards on 15 carries and scored on an 8-yard run. Plott’s son Patrick, an eighth grader, also scored on a 17-yard pass from Simon. The final TD was scored by Darrien Latham on a 6-yard run with 2:59 remaining.

Damian Mitchell led Coach Brent Hubbert’s Red Devils with 130 yards rushing on 31 carries. He scored twice on runs covering 1 and 22 yards. Quarterback Colby Chambers added a 1-yard sneak for a TD. He finished with 82 yards rushing on 17 carries and was 8-of-14 passing for 114 yards. Stevonta Bradley caught two passes for 30 yards and Kendarius Bradley hauled in a 40-yard catch.

William Armstrong and Devonta Morrow had 11 tackles each for Maplesville. Anthony Moor and Mitchell also made interceptions.

Leading Pickens County’s defense were Rakwan Betts and Justin Barton with 10 tackles each. Simon also made one pick.

Pickens County finished with 414 yards rushing and 452 yards total offense, and ended the season 669 points. Maplesville, which finished with 328 total yards, narrowly missed the state record for points in a season with 751. The state record (761) was set by Demopolis in 2004.

CLASS 3A

Madison Academy 31, Leeds 14

The Mustangs (15-0) rushed for 364 yards en route to the win over the Green Wave (12-3), closing out a perfect season as Coach Eric Cohu registered his 100th career win. Cohu (100-21) saw his team win their 25th straight win – as well as giving Madison Academy a state title won at Jordan-Hare Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium over the last two seasons.

Class 3A championship game MVP Malik Miller, a husky 6-foot, 225-pound sophomore, churned out 168 yards rushing on 20 carries. He scored twice on runs of 1 and 20 yards. He also had a 43-yard non-scoring run. Junior running back Kerryon Johnson added 93 yards on seven carries and scored the game’s first touchdown on a dazzling 43-yard touchdown run.

LaMarkus Martin also had 78 yards on 13 attempts and a 3-yard TD run to close out the scoring with three minutes remaining in the final quarter. Nathan Geis kicked four extra points and a 45-yard field goal.

Leeds junior quarterback Tadarryl Marshall led Coach Keith Etheredge’s Green Wave with 139 yards rushing on 25 carries and completed 11-of-23 passes for 147 yards and one TD. Jacoby Lockhart hauled in four catches for 64 yards and one TD covering 28 yards. His score cut the Mustangs’ lead to 21-14 with 50 seconds left in the third period. Tre Nation also scored on a 1-yard run in the third period.

DeAngelo Webster had nine tackles, and Tyler Wright and Adam Mitchell added seven stops each. Isaiah Sharp-Perry also made an interception to pace the Leeds defense.

Taylor Ziak’s 11 tackles led the Mustangs’ defense. Logan Hamlett added nine stops and Nicholas Tomlinson had eight. Madison Academy had the three sacks and seven tackles for losses.

(AHSAA)