Hartselle's Tyler Phillips had two of Hartselle's four interceptions against Briarwood on Friday night. (Daily photo by Jeronimo Nisa)
Hartselle High is headed to next week’s Class 5A state championship game, and there are few teams that deserve the opportunity more than this team.
Read past the jump to know why …
Posted in Football, Hartselle, Kneejerk reactions
Wow. Whatta game.
Gavin Marsh’s 19-yard field goal with four seconds remaining lifted Hartselle to a 22-21 win over Pinson Valley on Friday night, calming the fast-beating hearts of Tigers fans.
Follow me after the jump for more thoughts.
Posted in Football, Hartselle, Kneejerk reactions
In four football seasons with The Decatur Daily, I have never seen Decatur High play as poorly as the Red Raiders did in the first half Friday night.
But in this game, it’s all about how you finish, not how you start.
Decatur regrouped from a zero-point, three-turnover first half and scored four times in the final two quarters in a 23-3 win over inter-city rival Athens. Jordan Tibbs, Bejuan Clack and Na’Vante Williams scored TDs in the second half, and Jackson Walraven added a field goal for the Red Raiders.
Friday’s strong second-half could spark this team in next week’s opening round of the state playoffs, when Decatur travels to Class 6A No. 10 Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa. We’ll see.
Posted in Decatur, Football, Kneejerk reactions
Did you see the post a couple of weeks ago about Hartselle taking care of business?
On Thursday night, it was T.C.B. all over again.
Masio Stover ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns in a big win over Austin on Thursday night. (Decatur Daily photo by Jeronimo Nisa)
Class 5A No. 2 Hartselle (I keep ranking the Tigers No. 1) outplayed Austin offensively, defensively and on special teams to finish the regular season undefeated.
The Tigers rushed for more than 400 yards with its leading rusher sidelined with a mild foot injury. Masio Stover stepped into the feature back role and responded well, rushing for 216 yards and two scores. The Tigers’ defense held high-scoring Austin to three touchdowns below its season average, and Hartselle parlayed a Black Bears special teams miscue into momentum and three second-quarter scores.
Simply put, this was the best I’ve seen Hartselle play this season. And possibly the worst I’ve seen Austin.
The Black Bears have lost three in a row — if you count the Week 8 decision against Clay Chalkville — entering next week’s opening round of the state playoffs. After Thursday night’s loss, Austin head coach Jeremy Perkins said his main concern is mending the psyche of his football team. At least the Black Bears have a week and one day to make that happen.
Posted in Austin, Football, Hartselle, Kneejerk reactions
What can be said that hasn’t already about Hartselle this season?
The Tigers played their trademark brand of defense, coming away with five interceptions in a 20-13 win at Cullman on Friday night. And in clinching its second-straight Class 5A, Region 6 championship, Hartselle pitched a second-half shutout against rival Cullman.
Hartselle kept its perfect record intact at 9-0, and while the Tigers’ offense has been effective, the defense has been largely responsible for this team’s success. Entering this one, Hartselle had allowed 6.8 points per game — good enough for third in the state, regardless of classification.
The Tigers’ defense faces another test next week, when Austin visits J.P. Cain Stadium. Expect the same results. This group is good. Really good.
Posted in Football, Hartselle, Kneejerk reactions
This was Decatur’s worst effort of the season. Perhaps Friday night’s letdown can be traced to prematurely anticipating what would have been the season’s biggest game next Friday night.
But instead of playing Bob Jones in a winner-take-all next week for the Class 6A, Region 8 title, the Red Raiders fell to fourth in the region. Ouch.
Decatur beaten in all phases of the game. The Red Raiders couldn’t establish the trademark running game that had been prevalent in three straight region wins, and indecision plagued Decatur’s passing game. Defensively, DHS couldn’t slow Hazel Green’s D’aaron Sanderfer (100-plus yards rushing) and Rashad Anderson (100-plus yards receiving).
Bob Jones visits Ogle next week. Friday night would be a good time for this DHS bunch to get some redemption, but it’ll require a better effort than the one the Red Raiders gave last night.
Posted in Decatur, Football, Kneejerk reactions
— posted by Michael Cummings
Hartselle dominated Athens in a 23-0 victory Friday night at Golden Eagle Stadium, and there’s plenty to talk about. Follow me past the jump for a few kneejerk reactions to what was an intriguing game.
Posted in Athens, Football, Hartselle, Kneejerk reactions
– posted by Cody Whitlock
A few thoughts from Tanner High’s sub-regional 73-60 win over Hatton:
Considering their win last night, the Lady Rattlers are a strong pick to contend for the Class 2A state championship. Their strong inside play — led by Sierra Sales (5-foot-10) and Lauren Harris (5-8) – has been unmatched and will likely continue to be at the Northwest Regional tournament next week.
Despite her team’s loss, the best player on the floor was Hatton’s Jordan Johnson. The 6-foot-0 junior post player poured in 39 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. She had 22 in the first half and showed her range from the perimeter, knocking down a few mid-range jumpers. Next year should be exciting, as I’d expect Johnson to contend for the Class 2A player of the year.
Finally, Tanner has a really nice gym. It was my first time covering an event at the Rattlers’ home, and I definitely left impressed.
Posted in Basketball, Kneejerk reactions
– posted by Cody Whitlock
Some leftover thoughts from Decatur High’s Monday night games at Florence:
For the second time in four days, Florence sent a varsity boys basketball team back to the River City with a loss.
After routing Austin 79-46 on Friday, the Falcons defeated Decatur 64-56 on Monday night in a Class 6A, Area 15 contest.
Here’s what you should take away from that game:
– posted by Cody Whitlock
A few thoughts on last night’s games between Austin and Florence:
About the only thing that fell for the Austin boys was the water cooler. The Black Bears shot a cold 1-for-21 from 3-point range, while the game was delayed a few minutes in the second half after some water was spilled on the floor at the end of the Austin bench.
Florence's Beniquez Brown, left, shoots over the defense of Austin's Sedrick Mitchell. (Photo by TimesDaily photographer Jim Hannon)
Austin couldn’t find the consistency it had hoped for after knocking off rival Decatur last week. Turnovers and fouls doomed Austin against Florence, which got 19 points from post player Beniquez Brown. The Black Bears couldn’t match up strongly with Brown in the paint, and he scored five points during a 14-2 run in the second quarter.
The girls game was no contest. Eighth-ranked Austin flexed its muscle early, jumping out to a 33-11 lead at the end of the first half.
Delisa Madry, who will play in Florence next year at the University of North Alabama, has about the sweetest jumpshot of any player around. She used her technique to stroke a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Lady Black Bears take a commanding lead.
Cody Whitlock
Justin Graves