Hartselle vs. Austin game notes
Series: Hartselle leads 26-17-1
Last meeting: Hartselle won 27-16 in 2010
Going for perfect regular season: Hartselle is going for its first 10-o regular season since 2008, when the Tigers finished 12-1 and went to the state quarterfinals. In that 2008 season, they only allowed 82 points in the regular season and 105 overall. So far this year, the Tigers have only allowed 67 points. Hartselle’s first 10-0 season came in 1979.
Region Champs again: Hartselle has now won its fourth consecutive region championship, which gives the program 17 area/region championships. They will host Boaz on Nov. 4. Due to a change in the playoff brackets, region champions are not guaranteed to host both of the first two rounds.
Turnovers key Cullman win: Hartselle won the turnover last week against Cullman as the Tigers forced six turnovers. Four different defenders collected five interceptions. Hartselle also recovered a muffed punt. One Tiger interception was negated by a penalty. The referees also ruled that the Hartselle defender was out of bounds on a would-be interception.
Hartselle defense still in top 10: The Tigers are still ranked seventh overall in points allowed per game (7.4). Muscle Shoals, the top ranked Class 5A defense last week, dropped to ninth overall behind Hartselle. The Tigers still rank 22nd overall in scoring differential with a 31.1 points per game average.
