Hoover 31, Vestavia Hills 14: Josh Niblett earns 200th career win

Hoover gave Josh Niblett his 200th win as a high school coach and clinched a Class 7A playoff berth, downing rival Vestavia Hills 31-14 on the road.

The win improved Hoover to 6-2, 5-1 in Class 7A, Region 3 play. Vestavia Hills was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, dropping to 4-4, 2-4.

Quarterback Cooper Bishop scored on a 22-yard run to cut the deficit to 24-14.

Niblett, who has also coached at Oxford, improved his career mark to 200-50. His players gave him a Gatorade bath at the end of the game.

"It was a really crazy moment," receiver George Pickens said. "I'll never forget it. I'm a senior and I've never really gotten a chance to pour Gatorade on him and enjoy it."

Play of the game: Ashford's sprint down the left sideline on a zone read for the 80-yard touchdown.

Key moment: Vestavia Hills had Hoover stopped on its first drive, but a roughing the kicker gave the Bucs a first down after a missed field goal. The Bucs scored a touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Ashford to Pickens.

By the numbers: Vestavia has missed the playoffs for three straight years now and Hoover hasn't missed since 1999. Niblett improved his career mark to 12-2 against Vestavia and Hoover leads the series 34-20, including 12 wins in the last 14 matchups.

Stat sheet: Ashford ran 10 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns and hit 12-of-21 passes for 163 yards and a score. Pickens, the Auburn pledge, caught eight passes for 83 yards. Vestavia's Bishop rushed for 145 yards on 26 carries. Larry McCammon ran for 122 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown for Hoover.

Coachspeak: "I was feeling pretty good, but their quarterback made a big play," -- Vestavia Hills' Buddy Anderson after his team cut the lead to 24-14.

"To God be the glory. He's put me in this opportunity to be a coach. It's a ministry for me. It's not about me, it's about the coaches and the players that I've been a part of and the opportunity to be in their lives." -- Niblett on his 200th win.

They said it: "We just had to forget about it and play our game. We know if we make a mistake, we can bounce back from it. We put it in the back of our mind and went to the next play." -- Ashford on overcoming mistakes, as Hoover lost two fumbles and had more negative plays.

"It says we have a lot of grit. We're a hard-working team. We lost to St. John's and we lost to Hewitt in a blowout. Coach is always harping on adversity and us coming back from it." -- Pickens.

Up next: Hoover hosts Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills is at Oak Mountain.