Mykel Welch is in rare company.

Offensive lineman rarely ever get to score a touchdown, much less score the game-winning touchdown in a game.

The Hartselle senior did both Friday night at J.P. Cain Stadium.

After the Tigers fumbled the ball at the 5-yard line of Pinson Valley, Welch was in the right place at the -right time to give Hartselle its final touchdown, clinching a 27-21 win over Pinson Valley on the opening night of the football season.

“I just saw the ball, picked it up and fell back into the end zone,” Welch said. “That’s the first touchdown of my career.”

Welch or head coach Bob Godsey said they had never seen that happen before. Welch was just one of the many Tigers who came up big plays when the Tigers needed them.

Jaylan Jackson picked off two passes from Pinson Valley quarterback Errius Collings, the last of which gave Hartselle the ball back with 4:00 to go.

The Tigers converted on fourth down with Jackson’s 9-yard run on an end around to drain the rest of the clock.

Jackson said he had to make up for his first half performance.

“We had a bad first half,” Jackson said. “Our linebackers and line were playing well, but we let them make too many big plays. So I had to make up for that. We came back in the second half and made some plays.”

Godsey said he liked the way his team responded after the adversity of the first half.

“We grew up tonight,” Godsey said. “We gave up too many big plays tonight, but we also made a lot of plays. We’re still a young team and we took some steps forward tonight.”

Hartselle got on the board first with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Jackson’s twin brother Jamaal with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. Cody Salem added the extra point to give Hartselle a 7-0 lead.

Pinson Valley answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Spencer Underwood. Saul Rios added the extra point to tie the game with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

The fireworks continued with Jake Tiffin’s short pass to Jaylan Jackson, which he made one guy miss and took it to the house for an 84-yard touchdown, giving Hartselle the 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Pinson Valley missed a golden opportunity on Nick Gibson’s 57-yard run. The Jackson twins ran him down from behind inside the Hartselle 10-yard line.

That tackle proved to a game-changing play, as the Tigers turned the Indians away on Rios’ missed field goal from 30 yards out.

Gibson set up the second touchdown with a 44-yard reception, which led to Collins’ 34-yard touchdown toss to Desmond Williams.

The Indians took the lead with 17 seconds left in the half, as Gibson dove into the end zone from 4 yards out. Pinson Valley led 21-14 at the half.

That drive was set up by a 51-yard pass to Williams.

After Pinson rolled up 270 yards of offense in the first half, the Indians would be held scoreless in the second half.

Moments into the third quarter, Caleb Finn stripped Collins of the ball on a sack. Connor Landers picked up the ball and raced 38 yards for the touchdown, to tie the game a
21-21.

Neither team could do much until the final drive of the third quarter. Freshmen Taylor Easterling finally broke free for a 40-yard burst in the waning moments of the period, setting up the Tigers in the red zone to start the final quarter.

On fourth-and-2 from the Pinson Valley 14, Tiffin completed a bootleg pass to Zeth Malcolm to set up first-and-goal.

At the 5-yard line, Welch said they had called an inside run.

“I had gotten down to the linebackers when I saw the ball,” Welch said. “I guess I was at the right place at the right time.”