Hartselle athletes lead teams to wins

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
HUNTSVILLE - Russell Powell ended his high school football season on a high note at the 13th annual Alabama All-Star Week.
Alex Holmes started her final prep season off the same way.
The two Hartselle standouts helped the North All-Stars pick up wins in the football and volleyball competitions.
The North dominated the week, winning five competitions. The North and the South teams split in baseball.
Both Powell and Holmes contributed heavily in their teams’ wins during the week.
Powell, a June graduate who will walk-on at Auburn this fall, played virtually every snap in the North’s 14-7 football win over the South at Alabama A&M’s Louis Crews Stadium.
The North used a late defensive stand to stop the South at the 14-yard line with 23 seconds remaining in the game to secure the victory.
Speake’s Dez Polk scored both touchdowns to cap his high school prep career with most valuable player honors for the North. He finished with two catches for 43 yards in the victory.
Both of Polk’s scores came in the second quarter and the North held on for the win after the South scored its only touchdown in the second half.
Powell, a four-year starter at center for Hartselle, was the Tigers’ lone representative on the North team.
The South currently holds a 28-21-2 lead in the series that was started in 1948. The South came into Friday night’s game with a three-game winning streak.
Volleyball
The North girls continued their dominance in the series with a 3-1 victory over the South in the volleyball competition Thursday at the University of Alabama at Huntsville’s Spragins Hall.
The North team edged the South in four games Thursday afternoon to claim the 13th annual Alabama All-Star Sports Week volleyball all-star match at the University of Alabama-Huntsville’s Spragins Hall.
All four games in the match were close battles decided by five points or less.
The North victory improved their record in the annual All-Star week volleyball series to 9-4.
Holmes, who will be a senior at Hartselle this fall, finished with two kills, one dig and a block assist in the North’s win.
Both of Holmes’ kills came in the second game as the North opened up an early five point lead over the South.
The South all-stars tied match by winning the second game 25-23, but the North came back to win the final two games 25-20 and 25-21.
Huntsville’s Anna McCrae earned most valuable honors for the North team after finishing with 14 kills, 12 digs and two blocks. Lisa Copeland of Grissom added 14 kills, while Bob Jones’ Lindsey Ortner finished with 13 digs.
The South’s Jennifer Percy, a senior-to-be at St. Paul’s, had 13 kills, two aces and seven digs on the way to team most valuable player honors.
Bayside Academy’s Savannah Simmons added 20 kills, while Lindsey Young of Pelham contributed 32 assists in the loss.