Western collapses late, falls against Alabama powerhouse Hoover in Broward Showcase

The Western Wildcats in 2024 have the talent to play with anybody. But they can also lose to most anybody when they make the kind of mistakes that sabotaged their season opener Saturday.

The Wildcats lost to famed Hoover (Ala.) High School 17-14 in the Broward County National Football Showcase Saturday not because they were the inferior team. They were not.

They lost to Hoover Friday because they lost the game’s final 9 minutes and 28 seconds. And to put a finer point on it, they lost the game’s two most important plays.

Hoover’s senior cornerback Jamar Moultrie blocked an extra point to keep the Wildcats’ lead at 14-7 in the fourth, and then returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score-tying touchdown.

Hoover, a high school football juggernaut that has won 13 Alabama state championships and also was the subject of an MTV reality TV show, rode the momentum from that reversal through the rest of regulation.

The Buccaneers defense got a key stop deep in Western’s end in the game’s final minutes. That set up a game-sealing 38-yard field goal by James Bryant, sending the hundreds of Hoover fans that made the long drive from Alabama home in delirium.

“If I said I didn’t want this one really bad, I’d be lying to you,” Hoover coach Chip English said after the game. “So, it’s nice for our team, our program, our fans. We had more fans than they did tonight and we traveled 1,000 miles. So it was really cool to see.”

English called Moultrie, who has drawn interest from Central Michigan among other schools, “one of those guys.”

He added: “We knew what kind of player he was. He’s electric. So coming out here tonight having a blocked kick, having the kick return to tie it up. I mean, that’s nothing new to us, but at the same time, big players make big time plays and big time games and he did that and I’m really, really proud of him.”

On the Western sideline, the mood was naturally far more subdued.

Coach Adam Ratkevich has high hopes for a roster that might be the most talented in program history.

But the Wildcats on Friday looked like a team still finding its footing. They outgained the Bucs by 161 yards and still lost because of special teams and self-inflicted mistakes.

“My hats off to them, their boys play with a lot of heart and we made too many mistakes, especially some of our rookies,” Ratkevich said. “We just can’t give up eight points in two plays on special teams and way too many penalties that weren’t smart that really hurt us.”

Certainly the special teams breakdowns were costly. But so were the 11 accepted penalties for 88 yards, including several that doomed promising drives.

Transfer Sebastian Circo went just 15 of 28 for 131 yards and a touchdown in his Western debut.

But he had more than enough help on the ground, as sophomore running back Johnathon Bueno not only filled in for an injured Sinorice Rice Jr., but wore his jersey number in this highly anticipated game. Bueno led all players with 132 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

The Wildcats have little time to lick their wounds. They visit American Heritage next Friday before hosting St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 13.

“The front of our schedule is brutal,” Ratkevich said. “Might be one of the hardest in the nation.”