GAME NOTES: Hartselle (7-3) at Homewood (8-2)
Series: Homewood leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Homewood won 48-6 in the 1997
Southerland finally catches a pass: Luke Southerland has rarely been called on to catch a pass. Last season, he had a chance to catch the game-winning pass against Decatur. However, he ran the wrong way and missed his opportunity. They ran that same play against Hazel Green for the game-winning two-point conversion. This time, he ran the right route and was wide open for the score.
Fans to give team a sendoff: Hartselle High School fans have an opportunity to give the team a sendoff right before they hop on I-65 southbound toward Homewood. They will be leaving the school at 2:30 p.m. out the front entrance, going down Bethel Road, turning left on to 36 and getting on the interstate. Hartselle parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and the entire community are encouraged to come and give the players a big sendoff. Students will still be in school and not able to do this sendoff. Bring shakers, signs, horns and anything that will get the players attention. Meeting places are: East Highland Baptist Church for the freshmen class, Hartselle Heritage Funeral Home for the sophomores, Dollar General for juniors and Z Trac for the senior class.
Mirror images: Hartselle and Homewood are two teams that could be mirror images of each other. Both operate using the same philosophy: balance on offense, solid on defense and not beating themselves. Both teams like to put themselves in position to win the game in the fourth quarter. Homewood has more size, but Hartselle has more speed.
Players to watch for Homewood: dual threat QB Carson Griffis, RB Derrick Underwood, WR Lawton Dorough, DE Griffin Gentry.
Key matchup: Hartselle’s offensive line vs. Homewood’s defensive line. In the Patriots’ eight-game winning streak, Gentry has wreaked havoc in the backfield. He has seven sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Mykel Welch and Co. could have their hands full if they can’t slow Gentry and his teammates.