Hartselle closes in on title with win

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
ATHENS - Hartselle and Athens - longtime Class 5A, Region 8 rivals - traded blows in a matchup between teams looking to add a championship to their histories.
But when it came time to put the game out of reach Friday at Golden Eagles Stadium, Hartselle stepped up with 15 points in the fourth quarter to walk out with a 32-22 victory.
The win was Hartselle’s fourth straight win over Athens and the Tigers’ 12th straight region win.
Now Hartselle heads into the final three weeks of region play with a one-game lead over both Athens and Russellville in the race for the 2009 region championship.
Hartselle improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in Class 5A, Region 8 play with the win. The Tigers used a late 15-play march to overcome the Golden Eagles down the stretch.
Hartselle junior quarterback Will Lang threw one touchdown pass and ran for another to give the Tigers an offensive spark. He finished with 278 yards of passing to overshadow the efforts of Athens’ 6-foot-7 quarterback Stephen Rivers, brother of current San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers.
Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the loss, but was kept in check late in the game.
Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 22-17 advantage, but Hartselle responded with a fourth-quarter drive to regain the lead.
Lang scored on a 6-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to put Hartselle back in front 25-22.
More importantly, the Tigers’ defense held the Golden Eagles in check following the touchdown and forced a punt to set up a final scoring drive.
Hartselle led 10-0 in the first quarter after a 28-yard field goal by Dylan Stephenson - his first field goal of the season - and a 2-yard Malcom Fossett touchdown run.
Fossett finished with 110 yards rushing in the win, the first time a Hartselle running back had reached the 100-yard mark this season.
Athens tied the game with 10 straight points in the second quarter with a field goal from Armand Hunt and a Rivers touchdown pass to Chandler Brook.
But Hartselle added a late touchdown just before the end of the half to go back in front 17-10. The drive ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Lang to Will Tiffin.
Hartselle’s defense came up with a big stop on an Athens’ possession in the second quarter when Cody Anders delivered a vicious hit to Rivers, who was unable to handle the football. Robby Reece came up with the fumble recovery.
It was the Golden Eagles’ only turnover of the game.
Athens regained the lead with a pair of touchdown passes from Rivers in the third quarter. The transfer from Austin threw a 9-yard touchdown to Julius Jones and a 21-yarder to Chris Cain to help Athens for a 22-17 advantage.
Hartselle wouldn’t be denied, though.
With Lang hitting five different receivers and Fossett powering for tough yardage late, the Tigers tacked on 15 straight points including a Fossett touchdown with 58 seconds remaining in the game to seal the win.
The win ends a brutal stretch where the Tigers faced three opponents who brought a total of just one loss into their matchup with Hartselle - Russellville, Cordova and Athens.