If there was a moment when Mobile (AL) McGill-Toolen High officially became a thorn in Hoover (AL) High's side, it likely came last July at the USA Football 7-on-7 high school national championships.

The two budding Alabama high school football rivals, largely considered two of the top Class 7A programs in the state, are meeting again at the National Championship Series from July 13-15  at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex and Soccer Fields.

Hoover's tournament is one of four national series being held across the country -- others including Orange County, CA; Dallas, Texas; and Canton, Ohio. Hoover's series will play host to 36 teams from nine states -- which is a shift from one major championship in years past.

But you have to drum back even further to see when ripples began to form between Hoover and McGill-Toolen.



In 2015, the Yellowjackets -- who have a longstanding rivalry with Mobile Murphy High -- started to emerge when Hoover was ousted out of the third round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs.

McGill-Toolen, on the heels of arguably one of its worst seasons in memory, continued on to the Super 7 Finals, earning its first Class 7A title in school history over Spanish Park to complete a benchmark 13-1 season that included nine straight wins.

Then came the Yellowjackets' first win at the 7-on-7 national championships, beating the likes of Hoover, which had won the tournament four times over its 15-year run.

So what happened next?

Hoover rebounded in the fall with a big season, and McGill-Toolen kept winning. The two powerhouse programs eventually met in the Super 7 finals to a packed house at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Final score: Hoover 17, McGill-Toolen 7.

Before the game, Hoover unveiled a banner, "We're back to claim our state!"

It was the first such meeting between the Class 7A programs in over 10 years -- according to our research -- and made for one heck of a game.

Hoover snapped McGill-Toolen's 22-game winning streak by holding the team, which had averaged 40 points per game that season, to just one score.

The Buccaneers, rated as the second-best team in the state that season, went 11-0 against Alabama teams and also pounced on the Yellowjackets' USA Today No. 5 national ranking .

It was Hoover's 11th state title in its history and fourth in the last eight years.

Get ready for another showdown this time around.

Teams:

Alabama: Austin, Enterprise, Tuscaloosa Hillcrest, McGill-Toolen, Park Crossing, Hoover, Thompson, Daphne, Spain Park, Bob Jones, Phenix City Central, Hewitt-Trussville, Minor, Opelika, Spanish Fort
South Carolina: Boiling Springs, Dutch Fork
Georgia: Cherokee, Brunswick, Colquitt County, Best Academy, Camden County, Valdosta, Walton
Connecticut: New Canaan
Florida: Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Mainland
Louisiana: St. Augustine, Warren Easton, Mandeville
Tennessee: Oakland, Memphis East
Mississippi: Shannon, Meridian
Arkansas: Har-Ber

Previous Hoover 7 on 7 Champions:

2016: Mobile McGill-Toolen, AL
2015: Louisville, Male Bulldogs, KY
2014: New Orleans Warren Easton Eagles, LA
2013: Kenton Wildcats, Ohio
2012: Hoover Buccaneers, AL
2011: Daphne Trojans, AL
2010: Carver Wolverines, AL
2009: Hoover Buccaneers, AL
2008: Har-Ber Wildcats, AR
2007: Hoover Buccaneers, AL
2006: Shiloh Christian Saints, AR
2005: Hoover Buccaneers, AL
2004: Springdale Bulldogs, AR
2003: Thomas Jefferson Jaguars, PA
2002: Evangel Christian Eagles, LA
2001: Daphne Trojans, AL

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