Hoover proved that rankings don’t always matter when it beat the most difficult school it is going up against this year on Friday.

The Tornados beat Duarte, 44-0, at Hoover’s field to improve to 4-0 on the season. After two hours of playing in the rain, Hoover deserved this win, beating an opponent that is ranked 31 spots higher than the Tornados, according to Maxpreps.com.

“I think this game goes to show that rankings don’t mean anything,” Hoover quarterback Ethan Davis said. “I think it comes down to the team morale and how practice goes throughout the week. We had a few mistakes, but we executed what we needed to do and showed them what we’re made of.”

Touchdowns started rolling in as soon as the game began. Starting off the first quarter, Daniel Rangel made the first touchdown from the 30-yard line, leaving the score 6-0, and bringing his total to four total touchdowns on the year:

The second quarter was a huge success for Hoover.

Issac Perez was able to score his first touchdown of the season at the start of this quarter. Soon after, kicker Daniel Baneham kicked a field goal with nine minutes remaining.

Later, Davis made a touchdown, his third of the season, and then later, Cedric Lynum scored his team-leading seventh touchdown to give Hoover a 30-0 lead at the half.

“I think after this game it’s safe to say that numbers don’t mean anything,” Lynum said. “We just did what we’ve been doing for the past games, which has been working. We just make sure to keep pushing the ball.”

The third quarter started strong with yet another touchdown.

Javon Lymon was able to make a touchdown after Davis passed the ball from the 30 yard line with two minutes and 56 seconds left in this quarter. Joel Jauregui ended off the quarter with a touchdown at the final moment with zero seconds left.

Assistant coach Lane Barchan had a special message for his players, “They worked their tails off,” he said. “All week, it’s been hot, they’ve been out here every single day, working hard. It shows on game day how much they work.”