CULLMAN – The No. 5 Hartselle Tigers couldn’t overcome numerous miscues to defeat its archrival, as the Cullman Bearcats escaped with a 14-6 win Friday night.

The Tigers committed four turnovers, missed a field goal and gave up three huge plays on defense, two of which resulted in Cullman’s two scores on the night.

Even with all of those mistakes, the Tigers (3-1, 2-1) still had a chance to tie the game with nine seconds to go. Jake Tiffin lofted a pass into the end zone toward Tobias Mitchell as the clock expired, but a Cullman defender knocked away the pass.

Cullman (4-0, 3-0) came out firing on all cylinders to start the game. The nine-play, 66-yard drive was capped off by a Tyler Glenn 27-yard pass to Mason Jones for the touchdown, giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead at the 9:28 mark of the first quarter.

Hartselle looked like it was going to answer, driving all the way to the Cullman 16. Trey Moon ended the threat with an interception at the Hartselle five-yard line.

The next Hartselle drive stalled at the Cullman seven-yard line, but Jack Waterman put Hartselle on the board with a 24-yard field goal.

Jaylan Jackson made a touchdown-saving tackle on a 64-yard pass reception by Jones, forcing Cullman to attempt a 27-yard field goal that was no good.

Hartselle once again had all kinds of chances to cut in the lead, driving into the red zone again. Waterman’s 37-yard attempt, however, went wide right.

The Tigers came up empty once again after driving to the Cullman 21 and Moon got his second pick of the night, leaving Cullman’s lead at 7-3 at the half.

Waterman cut the lead to 7-6 with nine minutes left in the third quarter, booming a 44-yard field goal.

Hartselle’s defense rose up once again after a questionable call on a Cullman punt, which gave the Bearcats the ball inside the red zone. Cullman missed a 32-yard field goal, leaving the Hartselle deficit at one point.

Cullman finally got the separation it needed, thanks to a trick play. The Bearcats executed the double-pass play to William Crenshaw for a 46-yard touchdown with 7:48 to play in the game, pushing the lead to eight points.

The Tigers got the ball back with 1:54 to play in the game at its own seven-yard line, needing 93 yards to tie the game. Jake Tiffin connected with Jamal Jackson for a 26-yard gain and then followed it up with a 29-yard pass completion to Tanner Oakes, to get the Tigers to midfield following an offensive penalty.

Two receptions later, Hartselle had the ball at the Cullman 36 with nine seconds to play. However, the pass fell incomplete as time expired.

The Tigers will face Decatur next week in a non-region game Thursday night.