Former Hartselle player Will Foote celebrates the Tiger’s win over Cullman in the playoffs. Foote had the hit that drive in the game winning run. | Enquirer File Photo

Hartselle Enquirer

2016 was another exciting year for sports in Morgan County. Rivalries were played, championships were won and lost and numerous athletes signed letters of intent to play in college.

Basketball: The year started with basketball, and it started with a bang as the teams competed in the Morgan County Tournament. The Hartselle Lady Tigers won the girls championship by defeating West Morgan 60-43. Then freshman point guard Moriah Taylor turned in a career performance by knocking in 33 points. The Priceville Bulldogs secured the boys championship by defeating host West Morgan 60-57. This win kept the Rebels from winning their fourth straight county championship.

Four schools from the county advanced to play in the regional tournament while only one won their area. The Danville girls won their area by defeating Haleyville 86-51. Danville then defeated Wilson to advance to regionals. Hartselle’s girls advanced to regionals by defeating Jackson-Olin, West Morgan defeated Holly Pond and Priceville defeated Locust Fork. Both West Morgan and Priceville lost in the first round of the regional tournament. Danville also lost in the first round to West Limestone 64-57.

The Hartselle Lady Tigers advanced to the state tournament after winning the regional tournament. The Tigers first upset Athens 61-53 and then defeated Austin 48-45 to advance to their first state tournament since 2007. The Tigers lost in the final four to eventual champion Leflore 58-50.

Baseball and softball: 2016 was a down year for most of the baseball teams in Morgan County. However, the Hartselle Tigers had a tremendous year. The Tigers reached a number two ranking when they swept the Decatur Red Raiders to reach the playoffs and move to first in the area. This set up a huge end of season showdown between the second ranked Hartselle Tigers and the first ranked Cullman Bearcats for the area championship. Cullman defeated Hartselle at Sparkman Park 3-2 in extra innings to win the area title. Hartselle then defeated fourth ranked Florence in the first round of the playoffs thanks to a 10-9 win. This set up a rematch with first ranked Cullman. Hartselle defeated Cullman to end the Bearcats 18 game-winning streak over them but lost to the Bearcats 2-0 in a rubber match, which ended their season.

In softball, four of the county teams advanced to play in the regionals. Hartselle’s Kennadi Hogan saved the Tiger’s season by hitting a homerun to defeat Austin and send them to regionals. However, Hartselle lost to Arab and then to Southside to end their season. Falkville also lost two straight in the regionals. Danville defeated Elkmont in the first game but lost to Westminster and DAR. West Morgan advanced the farthest out of the schools. The Rebels lost to Plainview in the opening game but reeled of two straight dominating wins over Brindlee Mountain and Sand Rock which set up a game with Pisgah for a trip to state. The Rebels lost to Pisgah in extra innings after leading for most of the game.

Track: Falkville finished as runners up in the state championship.

Soccer: The Hartselle Lady Tigers advanced to the state playoffs. The Tigers defeated Athens in the first round before losing to Decatur.

Volleyball: It was a good year for Morgan County in volleyball. Brewer won the county championship by upsetting third ranked Hartselle. However, the Patriots slipped in regionals and did not make the trip to state. Hartselle, Danville and West Morgan advanced to the state tournament and all three advanced to the semifinals. West Morgan was the first to fall by losing 3-0 to Bayside Academy. Hartselle lost to second ranked and defending champion Spanish Fort 3-1. Just like the year before, Danville made a miraculous comeback in the fourth set to force a fifth winner take all set against Madison Academy. However, the Hawks fell to the Mustangs.

Football: Unlike volleyball, football was a down year for the county. Priceville and Falkville had rebuilding years as they dealt with a mass exodus of seniors and missed the playoffs. Danville and Brewer also missed the playoffs. West Morgan advanced to the playoffs after losing every game in 2015 but fell to Sylvania. The Hartselle Tigers had one of their best seasons since their state championship season in 2011. The Tigers started 8-0 with a win over Muscle Shoals for the first time since 2008. The Tigers dropped two in a row to Austin and Decatur but advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a win over Albertville. Hartselle lost to Minor in the second round. The Austin Black Bears advanced to semifinals for the second straight year before losing to eventual state champion Ramsay.

Basketball: The year has ended just like it started. The Brewer Lady Patriots are dominating with a 14-1 record and are currently ranked ninth in the state. Hartselle and Brewer’s boys are also having nice seasons. Hartselle has made quite the turnaround as they have a chance to advance to regionals for the first time since 2010.

Signings: Morgan County has had an abundance of signings this year. Kaleb Barker of Priceville and Dakota Bennett of Brewer have been the most high profile. Barker signed to play football at Troy and Bennett signed to play baseball at Arkansas. Other students who signed were Bailey Powell, Asher Gipner, Ryan Sullivan, Jake Rice, David Dunford, Ethan Cowart, Abigail Davis, Zeth Malcolm, Aaron Cartee, Jake Chaney, Phillip Goodwin, Parker Gwin, Kenzie Price, Marc McLendon, Sydney Sanders, Taylor Goodpastor, Kaitlyn Spangler, Morgan Weatherwax, Megan Zuck, Gabrielle Bili, Gracie Poe and Tara Tuck.