Hartselle falls in rivalry rematch

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Brent Calloway’s role in Russellville’s September loss to Hartselle was limited at best.
Call it a supporting role.
The sophomore stepped out of the shadows Friday to deliver a knockout blow to top-ranked and previously unbeaten Hartselle in a 13-6 win in the Class 5A quarterfinals at J.P. Cain Stadium.
The Golden Tigers’ win avenged an earlier loss to Hartselle and sent Russellville to the semifinals to face Cullman.
Hartselle’s loss ended a school-record winning streak at 12. The Tigers finished the season with a 12-1 record, equalling the school mark for wins in a season.
Two botched punt returns and several other critcal mistakes proved costly for Hartselle in the rematch with Russellville.
Hartselle’s offense - when it did get the football - just couldn’t put points on the scoreboard when it needed them the most.
The Tigers took advantage of several key mistakes to beat Russellville in the fourth week of the season, but it was Russellville who turned the tables in the second meeting between the long-time rivals.
Russellville has now won nine straight since being humbled by Hartselle earlier in the year. And it was obvious that this wasn’t the same Russellville team that was ranked No. 1 earlier in the season.
Russellville drove for a touchdown on the first possession of the game, moving 79 yards to score on a 14-yard run by Calloway.
The Golden Tigers added to the lead with a 3-yard run on a keeper by Joey Howe late in the first quarter that pushed the lead to 13-0.
Russellville played conservatively in the second half, especially after Howe sprained an ankle and was limited in his ability to roll out in the Golden Tigers’ offensive scheme.
Howe returned to the game with a heavily wrapped ankle and finished the game with six completions in 14 attempts.
So with the passing game plan grounded, Calloway took control. After logging only a couple of carries in the teams' earlier meeting, Calloway was dominating on the ground in the quarterfinals. The sophomore bulled his way for 166 yards on 33 carries.
Calloway was the second straight opponent to finish with more than 150 yards on the ground against Hartselle’s swarming defense. Just a week earlier, Boaz back Brandon Phillips ran for 180-plus yards against the Tigers.
But Hartselle was able to overcome Phillips’ outing. They didn’t have an answer for Calloway.
Hartselle struggled to find success offensively in the first half. The Tigers were limited to five first downs in the first half and finished with 174 yards of total offense in the loss.
The Tigers’ scoring output was the team’s lowest since a 14-0 loss to Russellville last year in the third week of the season, 20 games earlier.
Hartselle trimmed the Russellville lead to just seven points in the third quarter when Marquez Jones scored on a short dive from the 1-yard line.
Jones, who had 10 games where he topped the 100-yard rushing mark this season, was limited to just 67 yards by the Golden Tigers.
Largely silent in the first half, Hartselle’s offense - especially the running game - started to come alive. But Russellville's defense stood strong after the touchdown by Jones.
The Golden Tigers stopped three Hartselle possessions in the final quarter to seal the win, including a late drive that gave Hartselle a solid chance to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Russellville finished with 42 rushes in the game, allowing the Golden Tigers to work plenty of time off the clock.
The Golden Tigers used a six-minute drive in the second half to keep Hartselle’s offense off the field for more than half the quarter.
Hartselle had driven to the Russellville 22 in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Tigers defense came up big with a stop to end the threat.