HOOVER — Sam Sanford returned an interception 37 yards for his first career touchdown, and defensive lineman Kaleb Gibbs came within two yards of returning another interception for a score as No. 2 Hoover (Ala.) rode its special teams and defense to a 42-7 win over Meridian Friday night.

The Bucs (1-1) bounced back from a tough loss at Grayson in their opener, took advantage of outstanding field position all night thanks to kicker Barret Pickering, who kicked every kickoff into the end zone.

Meridian (0-2) never started a possession better than its own 20, and started five possessions at its own 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Hoover, on the other hand, started possessions at the Meridian 2, 20, 29, 41, 42 and 49.

Larry McCammon led the Bucs on the ground with 91 yards on nine carries, including a 27-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7 on the first possession of the third quarter.

Backup quarterback put the finishing touches on the scoring, rushing for 84 yards on 10 carries on the final two drives of the night, scoring on an 8-yard run with 3:14 remaining.

Sanford got the scoring started with 

his interception return, but the Wildcats answered with their only touchdown of the night as Mosley Rodriquez scored on a 3-yard run with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

The rest of the night, though, belong to the Bucs as they reeled off 35 unanswered points.

Auburn commit George Pickens finished with three catches for 41 yards. Auburn commit Shedrick Jackson was in street clothes.

•Star of the game: While it would be easy to pick either Sanford or Gibbs, kickers rarely ever get any love. Pickering has plenty of distance, but was a little to the left on a 52-yard field goal attempt, but he was perfect on kickoffs, sailing each attempt into the end zone as Meridian never could escape the shadow of its own end zone.

•Play of the Game: Sanford got the ball rolling with his 37-yard interception to stake the Bucs to a quick 7-0 lead, then Gibbs intercepted a pass at the 10 and lumbered all the way to the 2 to set up Vonte Brackett’s go-ahead score and the Bucs would never look back.

•Key sequence: Even though the game was already pretty much in doubt at 28-7, the Wildcats faced a first-and-inches inside the Hoover 1 midway through the third quarter. Four plays later, there was a no gain, a one-yard loss, a one-yard gain and Chase Brown’s interception to seal the deal.

•Stat sheet: Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as Hoover had 118 yards and Meridian 99; … the Bucs turned the ball over four times, including three times in the second half. …Brackett tallied 56 yards on nine carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run. Quiarterback Jalen Parker added a 24-yard touchdown run.

•By The Numbers: 189, consecutive weeks Hoover has been ranked in the ASWAA Top 10 poll since the final poll of the 1999 season, including 101 weeks at No. 1 and 33 weeks at No. 2; 9, Hoover’s straight seasons of at least 10 wins, a nine-year record of 118-13; 1998, the last year the Bucs had a losing season at 4-6; 4, the number of Hoover’s out-of-state losses out of 7 losses in the last five years; 3. The number of Meridian’s state championships (2008, 1990, 1985); 12, the number of Hoover’s state championships, including 10 since 2000.

•Coachspeak: “It was sloppy and we didn’t play our best. We made some big plays, especially when we needed them. When you don’t play well and you still win 42-7, you can find some places where you need to get better. It was a little sloppy, but you could still see the resiliency in their eyes when you can see what this team wants to accomplish,” __ Hoover coach Josh Niblett

•They Said It …: “The key was we need to start fast. We didn’t play that well last week and we wanted to come out and put the foot on the pedal. I thought we played fantastic. It was a whole lot better than last week.” -Brackett

“I was surprised as anyone that I could it. I really thought I had dropped it. I really wanted the touchdown. I didn’t think anybody was going to tackle me. It would have been nice to score my first touchdown and get the first touchdown for a defensive lineman.” –Gibbs

“I was just sitting in the middle of the field and saw the ball coming and went to break it up. All the sudden it ended up in my hands. I just cut down the sidelines and knew I was going to score. Actually, it seemed a lot easier at the end. It was like slow motion. It’s something I’ll never forget.” –Sanford

•Next week:  Hoover will remain at home against Mountain Brook while Meridian will return to its home state to host Noxubee County