Quick hits: Hartselle 16, Briarwood Christian 14

Quickie recap: Hartselle intercepted four passes, the last coming in the closing seconds that sealed a 16-14 victory over Briarwood Christian. The win puts Class 5A No. 2 Hartselle in the state championship game for the first time since 1981 and also scored redemption against Briarwood, which defeated Hartselle in last year’s semifinals.

Quickie stats: Tyler Phillips (Hartselle), 2 INT; Charlston Williams (Hartselle), one INT and onside kick recovery in the game’s final minutes; Ben Craft (Briarwood), 24-of-25 for 226 yards and two touchdowns — both went to Canon Smith; Deacon Aldridge (Hartselle), 7-of-15 for 89 yards and 78 yards rushing.

Quotable: “It feels kind of numb right now. I’m proud of our coaches and our guys and this community that has been behind us. This is what it’s supposed to be like. To do it by beating a top-notch class program, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of football. I’m just proud of our guys. They had a calm about them all week that they would not be denied, and they played that way.” — Hartselle head coach Bob Godsey

Quick hits: Hartselle 17, Center Point 7

Quickie recap: Hartselle used two defensive stands inside the 10-yard line in the first half in winning its second straight road game in the Birmingham area and 13th win of the season, which is a school record.  The win, which puts Hartselle (13-0) into the semifinals against Briarwood Christian, was the second straight against a Birmingham-area school after recent postseason struggles against teams from the Jefferson County region. The Tigers lost at McAdory in the 2009 quarterfinals, at Fairfield in 2004 and ended the 2003 season in the first round at Gardendale.

Quickie stats: Blake Slayton (Hartselle), 46 rushing yards and one TD, 59 receiving yards; Deacon Aldridge (Hartselle), 8-of-13 for 112 yards; Dax Gillespie (Hartselle) INT.

Quotable: “Maybe we’ll get a little respect out of those Birmingham papers now. They seem to think we can’t do it down here. That’s two in a row.” — Hartselle head coach Bob Godsey

Quick hits: Vestavia Hills 55, Austin 7

Quick recap: Vestavia scored on its first three plays from scrimmage to build an insurmountable lead in this Class 6A first round playoff game. Austin ends a season in which it won six of its first seven and made its first postseason appearance under second-year head coach Jeremy Perkins.

Statistical leaders: Seth Lynch (Austin), 70 yards on 11 carries and six receptions for 54 yards; Josh Walker (Austin), 61 rushing yards, 32 receiving, one TD; George Salem (Vestavia), 17 carries, 182 yards, 2 TDs.

Quotable: “This one started it off in a bad way. Those early scores gave them the momentum, and I knew that Vestavia is a fast-starting team as many times I have gone against them. We have struggled the last three or four weeks, and we needed to start fast. We needed that for the psyche of our kids. That was about the worst start that could have happened to us. We were not able to recover from it at all.” — Austin head coach Jeremy Perkins

Quick hits: Decatur 23, Athens 3

Decatur High's Josh Matthews ran nine times for 60 yards in Friday night's 23-3 win over Athens. (Decatur Daily photo by Brennen Smith)

Quickie recap: After trailing 3-0 at the half, Class 6A Decatur regrouped for four second-half scores in a 23-3 win against 5A Athens. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Red Raiders.

Statistical leaders: Peyton Littrell (Decatur), 5 catches, 96 yards; Josh Matthews (Decatur) 9 carries, 60 yards; Will Laughlin (Decatur) 10-14, 130 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; Calvin Tolliver (Athens), 5 rushes, 50 yards.

Quotable: “We didn’t make one adjustment at halftime other than trying to adjust some attitudes. It wasn’t pretty in here (the locker room). We were in our own way. We were stopping ourselves with everything we were doing. Not to take anything away from them because they had a good plan and their kids played aggressively, but our guys had to just do what they were coached to do. That was the biggest thing.” — Decatur head coach Jere Adcock

Quick hits: Hartselle 42, Austin 14

Quickie recap: Hartselle completed a 10-win, unbeaten regular season with a convincing win over Austin. The Tigers outplayed the visiting Black Bears offensively, defensively and on special teams to become the school’s third team to finish the regular season without a loss.

Statistical leaders: Masio Stover (Hartselle), 20 carries, 216 yards, 2 TDs; Malique Elliott (Austin), Eight receptions, 93 yards, one TD.

Quotable: “That’s tough to do. I don’t care what league you play in. It’s tough to win 10 games in a regular season. Just so much can happen, especially when you play a pretty tough schedule. It’s tough to get it right. You have to be a little lucky and work through some things. That’s what this team has done.” — Harstelle head coach Bob Godsey

Quick hits: Hartselle 20, Cullman 13

Quickie recap: Hartselle recorded five interceptions and pitched a second-half shutout for a 20-13 win over rival Cullman. The victory sealed the second straight Class 5A, Region 6 championship for the Tigers.

Stats: Deacon Aldridge (Hartselle), 10-of-19 for 128 yards and one score against one interception. Also rushed 18 times for 107 yards; Blake Slayton (Hartselle), 67 yards on nine carries and one TD; Garrett Fowler (Hartselle), two INTs.

Quotable: “I watch these guys daily, year-in and year-out. When I think they can’t play any harder, they find a way.” — Hartselle head coach Bob Godsey

Quick hits: Hazel Green 15, Decatur 7

Quickie recap: Hazel Green kept Decatur scoreless for three quarters and denied the Red Raiders a shot at the Class 6A, Region 8 title. With the win, Hazel Green secured a playoff berth and currently sits in second place in the region.

Stats: D’aaron Sanderfer (Hazel Green), 23 carries, 111 yards; Rashad Anderson (Hazel Green), seven catches for 118 yards and a TD; Bejuan Clack (Decatur), seven carries, 62 yards, TD.

Quotable: “I did a poor job of getting our kids ready to play. I thought Hazel Green prepared better than we did, they executed better than we did and they were hungrier than we were. We got our fannies whipped. We got it handed to us, and we got whipped in every phase of the game.” – Decatur head coach Jere Adcock

Quick hits: Hartselle 23, Athens 0

— posted by Michael Cummings

Hartselle 23, Athens 0

Quick-hit recap: Hartselle made a smooth transition to a new starting backfield with 268 rushing yards in a dominant shutout win at Athens. A year after all-state quarterback Will Lang and all-state running back Malcolm Fossett led the Tigers to the Class 5A semifinals, new starting quarterback Deacon Aldridge and new starting running back Blake Slayton both rushed for more than 100 yards to keep up the winning. The defense pitched a nearly perfect game, limiting Athens and its own new-look backfield to 27 rushing yards.

Statistical quick hits: Aldridge rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He used his athletic ability to extend plays and make defenders miss on quarterback options. He scored Hartselle’s first touchdown on a 37-yard run on fourth-and-10 late in the first half.

Slayton rushed 11 times for 113 yards. His longest carry went for 47 yards late in the second half as Hartselle’s experienced offensive line wore down Athens.

Quotable: “It’s like coach (Bob Godsey) said at halftime. ‘That was a pretty good first half, but it’s got to be better. You’ve got to get better every play.’ And we did. We got better every play.”
— Hartselle senior center Will Swann. The Tigers led 10-0 at halftime.

Quick hits: Briarwood 24, Hartselle 21 (OT)

– posted by Cody Whitlock

Briarwood 24, Hartselle 21 (OT)

Quick-hit recap: In a clash of the two top-ranked teams in Class 5A, Briarwood Christian kicked the game-winning, 19-yard field goal in overtime to advance to next week’s state championship game. The second-ranked Lions intercepted Hartselle on the first possession of overtime and then got a big kick from Wilson Whorton to move on to next week’s title game against Spanish Fort.

Statistical quick hits: Will Lang (Hartselle), Was 23-of-33 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Only mistake was the interception in OT; Malcolm Fossett (Hartselle) 19 carries for 101 yards and a TD and three receptions for 72 yards and another score. But watched the game’s final minutes from the sidelines with an injury; Daniel Robert (Briarwood), seven catches for 127 yards and 3 TDs.

Quotable: “It wouldn’t hurt so bad if we hadn’t worked our whole lives for this moment right here. Just to fall short, and especially for me throwing that pick, it hurts. We could have kicked a field goal. It ain’t a feeling you want to feel.” — Hartselle quarterback Will Lang

Quick hits: Hartselle 24, Russellville 14

– posted by Cody Whitlock

Hartselle 24, Russellville 14

Quick-hit recap: Class 5A, No. 1 Hartselle scored on the game’s opening possession and never allowed fourth-ranked Russellville to threaten in a convincing win at J.P. Cain Stadium. With the victory, the Tigers advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2002. Hartselle had played in the quarterfinals four times in the past five years but failed to advance to the next round. 

The Tigers will host Briarwood Christian — a 30-7 winner against Fort Payne — next Friday. Hartselle will play at home for the fourth straight week this postseason.  

Statistical quick hits: Malcolm Fossett (Hartselle), 147 yards and one score on 30 carries and 48 yards and another TD on two receptions; Will Lang (Hartselle) 11-of-17 passing for 149 yards and two TDs; Brent Calloway (Russellville), 30 carries, 175 yards, one TD. 

Quotable: “I would much rather be playing in the semis instead of watching the Iron Bowl. I’ve got a lot of Iron Bowls to watch, but only one more semifinal to play in.” — Will Lang, after realizing next Friday’s semifinal showdown with Briarwood Christian won’t allow him to watch the Iron Bowl.