Looking ahead to the future

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Before the Hartselle football team walked off the field Friday night for the last time, the seniors gathered the players together one last time to reflect on not only a great season, but a bright future.
After winning 22 of the last 26 games over the past two seasons, Hartselle will once again be looking for younger players to step up and fill the roles of the seniors who played their final high school football game in a 31-28 loss to McAdory in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
There will be some key losses, including many key components to the Tigers’ success on both sides of the football.
The list of players graduating next spring includes a group of players that has stepped up big over the last couple of years to make the Tigers so successful. Some were just reserves last season when Hartselle won its first 12 games of the season and have moved into larger roles this season.
Some players wiped away tears Friday after losing their final high school football game. But when the players met in the end zone at McAdory, it was to talk about the future.
Hartselle finished the regular season a year ago ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 5A but came up short in the third round of the playoffs with a loss to Russellville.
Some thought that the current group of Tigers would be hard pressed to repeat that success.
Instead, the 2009 team won the Region 8 championship for the second straight year. In two seasons, the Tigers have gone 13-1 in region play.
Now the region lineup is changing. Hartselle will no longer be in Region 8, a region that many feel is the toughest in the state in Class 5A.
But the challenge will be the same. The tradition doesn’t change. Only the players.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com