After six long years, the Victory Bell is coming back to Hoover High.

The Tornados defeated their crosstown rival, Glendale, on Friday night, 44-14, at Moyse Field to reclaim the Victory Bell for the first time since 2017.

“It’s been a journey,” Hoover senior Isaac Perez said. “The last two years we’ve been trying to win this bell, we finally did it all our seniors working hard since January.”

Glendale defeated Hoover in 2022 and 2021. Hoover and Glendale didn’t play one another from 2018 through 2020.

The Tornados are happy to have the bell back.

“Feel great man,” Hoover receiver Anderson Tombs said. “[We] lost the last two years, felt bad for our seniors but we pulled through this year.”

Hoover started the game with Ethan Davis throwing a 30-yard touchdown to Joel Jauregui with 3:27 minutes left in the first quarter.

Neither team scored until an unforgettable last minute of the second quarter.

Glendale was threatening to tie the score and had a first-and-goal situation at the 1-yard line.

Instead of running the ball, the Nitros attempted a pass, which was intercepted by Hoover’s Daniel Baneham at the 1. Baneham, a senior, returned the interception 99 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Hoover lead.

Baneham, who was also on Homecoming Court, added a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 17-0 Hoover lead, which was followed by a 23-yard interception return by senior Aram Darbinyan for a 24-0 cushion.

“These guys have worked hard all year,” Hoover Coach Azad Herabidian said.

Hoover added three more scores in the fourth quarter as it celebrated its fourth win of the season.

Davion Holloway caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Davis, who was nine of 13 passing for 200 yards. Ryan Oh, who rushed for 84 yards in 18 carries, had a five-yard touchdown run and Joseph Dizon capped the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run at the end of the fourth quarter.