By Gary Lloyd
CLAY — Clay-Chalkville at Hoover against Hoover was big.
Clay-Chalkville at Hoover against Niceville (Fla.) on national television is bigger.
The Cougars have agreed to play against Niceville (Fla.) on Saturday, Aug. 23 at Hoover. Hoover will face off with Miami Central (Fla.) that same day in a doubleheader of high school football games. These games replace the Clay-Chalkville at Hoover game originally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 21.
The games will be televised nationally. Details are still being worked out.
The Clay-Chalkville vs. Niceville game will be at 3 p.m., Cougars head coach Jerry Hood said. The Hoover vs. Miami Central game is at 11 a.m.
The game will be Clay-Chalkville’s first national appearance in program history.
“Everything we do is geared toward giving a kid a positive experience,” Hood said. “And if I’m a kid at Clay-Chalkville and we’ve got this opportunity, I would want my coach to say ‘Yes.’ It’s just a cool thing to do.”
Hood said the doubleheader has been discussed since the day after the Bucs-Cougars game was scheduled.
“We’re 18 years old as a school, what a phenomenal accomplishment to even be considered to play,” Hood said.
Niceville finished as the Class 7A runner-up in Florida last season. This will be Clay-Chalkville’s first game of the 2014 season.
“We’re going to line up, see what we’ve got right there on the national stage,” Hood said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.