Hartselle's season ended by McAdory

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
MCCALLA - Hartselle will have a hard time putting away the bad memories of its first-ever trip to McAdory.
The Tigers watched a big first-half lead evaporate as McAdory scored 24 straight points to stun Hartselle 31-28 in a Class 5A quarterfinal matchup Friday night in the first meeting between the two schools.
The loss, Hartselle’s second straight loss in the third round of the state playoffs, ended the Tigers’ season with a 10-3 record. Over the last two seasons, Hartselle has won 22 of 26 games but failed to advance to the semifinals both years.
McAdory lived up to its big-play reputation with several touchdowns that were set up by big or broken plays.
McAdory, now 11-1, will face Russellville - the runnerup in Region 8 to Hartselle - in the semifinals with a trip to Tuscaloosa for the Super 6 championships.
The Yellow Jackets finished with three interceptions in the win, including a pair that ended potential scoring drives in the closing minutes of the first and second halves.
Malcom Fossett gave Hartselle a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with a pair of touchdown runs just six minutes apart.
His second touchdown, scored with 2:27 remaining in the opening quarter, was set up by a McAdory late hit penalty that extended a Tigers’ drive.
McAdory finally got on the board when Henderrius Whitsett scored on a 6-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
But the score just kept the game close.
Hartselle drove to the McAdory 6-yard line in the final minute of the first half - a drive that took 4:38 off the clock – before Desmond Burns intercepted a pass near the goal line to end the threat with 14.5 seconds left in the second quarter.
Burns’ big play ignited the Yellow Jackets, who scored 17 straight points in the second half to turn the tables on the Tigers.
Darryl Jones and Brandon Bender scored on a pair of touchdown runs in the third quarter on drives just three minutes apart.
Bender threw for more than 200 yards in the second half after the Hartselle defense had kept him in check for much of the opening two quarters of play. He threw several big completions after scrambling under heavy pressure from the Tigers’ defense.
McAdory added to the lead with a 35-yard field goal by Edson Lopez with 10:33 left in the game.
Hartselle trimmed the gap to 24-21 three minutes later when Payton Sittason took a Will Lang pass 40 yards for the Tigers’ first touchdown since the opening quarter of the game.
McAdory’s Juwan Walker - the fourth Yellow Jacket player to run for a touchdown in the win - put the lead back at 10 points when he scored on a 3-yard run with 7:24 remaining.
Hartselle, the Class 5A, Region 8 champions, added one more score with 5:42 remaining when Fossett tacked on his third touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run that made it 31-28.
The Tigers got the ball back in the final two minutes and drove from their own 13-yard line to the McAdory 30 with the help of a 40-yard Sittason reception. But a penalty and a late interception by the Yellow Jackets ended the game.