Hartselle pummels Butler on road
By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
HUNTSVILLE - Hartselle made itself at home Thursday night at historic Goldsmith-Schiffman Stadium.
With a crowd of Tiger supporters that far outnumbered those of the host team, Hartselle trounced Butler 49-6 in a Class 5A, Region 8 game.
Hartselle improved to 7-0 overall with the win. But more importantly, the Tigers are now 5-0 in region play.
Butler dropped to 0-7 and 0-5 with its 13th straight loss dating back to a September 2008 victory over Muscle Shoals in a region game.
The win was Hartselle’s fourth straight in the series with the Rebels.
The Tigers have now won 17 straight regular season games and 13 straight Region 8 matchups dating back to the 2007 season.
The easy win was a stark contrast to Hartselle’s last three wins - against Russellville, Cordova and Athens - that weren’t decided until the fourth quarter.
Hartselle scored three times in the first quarter to quickly put the game out of reach against the overmatched Rebels.
Will Lang threw three touchdown passes to lead Hartselle’s offense in the rout. He finished with nine completions in just 11 attempts before spending the second half on the bench watching the reserves.
Malcom Fossett gave Hartselle the early lead when he broke free on a 32-yard touchdown run just three minutes into the game.
Lang added touchdown passes to James Seiglock and Will Tiffin to close out the opening quarter with a 21-0 advantage.
Seiglock added a 20-yard touchdown run with 5:30 left in the first half to add to the lead.
The Rebels, who crossed midfield just twice in the first half, scored on a 13-yard pass from Malcolm Brooks to Zakk Fullbright with 2:53 remainining in the second quarter.
Lang threw his final touchdown pass just one minute later when he teamed up with Payton Sittason on a 12-yard completion to give the Tigers a commanding 35-6 lead.
The touchdown was set up by a long kick return by Malcom Fossett following the Butler touchdown.
Hartselle got second-half touchdowns from Drew Malone and Deacon Aldridge to close out the scoring.
Dylan Stephenson kicked all five of his extra point attempts in the first half. Devin Marsh added two more extra points in the second half.
Hartselle, who has already clinched a state playoff bid, will return to action Friday at home against Lee. A win would guarantee the Tigers a share of the Class 5A, Region 8 championship.
