Tigers face battle with McAdory

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
McAdory may not be considered one of the powerhouse programs in Class 5A, but the Yellow Jackets have had plenty of success on the football field in recent years.
McAdory has six 10-win seasons in school history, but five of those have come in the last six years.
The Yellow Jackets have won five region championships in the last six years.
Now McAdory will host No. 8 Hartselle in a Class 5A quarterfinal playoff game with its sights on the first trip to the semifinals in school history.
McAdory’s last quarterfinal appearance came in 2000. The Yellow Jackets (10-1) are 0-7 in quarterfinal games.
Hartselle, now 10-2 overall, is making its 28th playoff appearance in the program’s long history. The Tigers are 26-27 overall in playoff games, but they have never lost a quarterfinal game on the road.
McAdory has reached the playoffs 23 times in school history.
The Yellow Jackets’ only loss of the season came in the third week of the regular season when Walker rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to claim a 31-28 overtime win.
Since that time, McAdory has won seven straight games.
Led by David Powell, who has a 132-49 career mark in 16 years as the team’s head coach, McAdory comes into the game with almost identical numbers on both sides of the ball as Hartselle.
McAdory is averaging 31 points per game, just 1.7 points less than Hartselle. Additionally, the Yellow Jackets are allowing just 12 points a game, just better than Hartselle’s 12.7 average.
The Yellow Jackets use a multiple offense that is geared around its running game. McAdory has four running backs with more than 300 yards rushing this season, including Henderrius Whittsett, who went over the 400-yard mark during the playoff win over Walker last week.
Whittsett has rushed for three touchdowns this year.
But while the Yellow Jackets may prefer to keep the ball on the ground, they will go to the passing attack to complement the stable of running backs.
Junior quarterback Brandon Bender has thrown for more than 1,100 yards this season with 15 touchdowns. His favorite target: Willie Moser, who has nearly 400 yards receiving.
But the heart and soul of McAdory’s success this season has come on defense. Last week, the Yellow Jackets’ defense was the key to the win over Walker last week, however. McAdory’s defensive unit forced five turnovers, recorded two safeties and limited Walker to just 188 yards of total offense.
Defensive tackle Kezmond Myles had two sacks and was credited with one of the safeties in the win.
McAdory has held five teams to seven points or less this season with shutouts against Carver and Central-Tuscaloosa.