Zeth Malcolm (3) runs the ball while Thomas Donaldson Homewood’s (29) defends during Hartselle’s first round of the playoffs Friday night. | Brent Maze

HOMEWOOD – Hartselle’s run in the Class 6A playoffs ended much earlier than expected.

The Homewood Patriots (9-2) erased an 11-point deficit in the final 6:19 of the fourth quarter to defeat Hartselle (7-4) 25-21 in the first round of the playoffs at Waldrop Stadium Friday night.

Hartselle coach Bob Godsey said the Tigers just didn’t do the things they needed to do earn the win to advance in the playoffs.

“We can’t go on the road, commit three fumbles and give them a 10-point lead right off the bat,” Godsey said. “You just can’t make those mistakes in the playoffs and they took advantage of it.

“We left it all out of the field. We played as hard as we could play, but just couldn’t finish it off.”

Hartselle led 21-10 entering the fourth quarter and controlled the ball for the first half of the final stanza.

Hartselle racked up four sacks on the ensuing Homewood drive. Two came from Connor Landers while Holden Langston and Chance Walker collected the other two. Kris Doss also added a sack earlier in the game.

However, The Patriots converted two fourth-and-long plays, the second of which was a 44-yard pass from Carson Griffis to John Dorough. Griffis then converted the two-point conversion with a pass to Maurice Mayo, cutting the Tiger lead to 21-18 with 2:26 to go.

After the Tigers went three-and-out, Homewood drove 50 yards in just 33 seconds, scoring on Derrick Underwood’s 1-yard touchdown run with 38.7 seconds remaining in the game. Following Brett White’s extra point, the Patriots led by four, forcing the Tigers to go for a touchdown.

The Tigers started from poor field position after the ensuing kickoff and were stopped on the final play inside their own territory as time expired.

Homewood took advantage of three Tiger fumbles in the first quarter to take a 10-0 lead.

The Tiger defense held Patriots to a 24-yard field goal by White following the first turnover. The Patriots fared better following the second fumble, as Underwood scored a 10-yard touchdown.

Hartselle finally forced a Homewood punt following the third fumble. Ja’mal Jackson put Hartselle on the board by taking Jake Tiffin’s short pass 82 yards for paydirt. Cody Salem added the extra point to cut the lead to 10-7.

The Tigers put together seven-minute drive, capped by Taylor Easterling’s 1-yard run late in the first half. That gave Hartselle a 14-10 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Tiffin called his own number for a 53-yard touchdown run of his own, pushing the lead to 11-points.

Homewood appeared like it was going to cut the lead with a long drive in the third quarter. Griffis scrambled and tried to get the ball to an open receiver at the Tiger 8.

The receiver never controlled the ball and Caleb Finn took it away from him for an interception before the ball hit the ground.

Hartselle then drove the ball for seven minutes, but the drive stalled out before the Tigers add insurance points to its lead.

That allowed Homewood the chance to rally, eliminate the Tigers from the Class 6A playoffs and advance to a matchup at Gardendale next week.

Godsey said he was proud of what his team overcame this season to be a playoff team.

“This has been a very successful year,” Godsey said. “We overcame a lot of adversity. It ended a lot sooner than we would have liked, but this has still been a very successful season.”