Hartselle’s big second quarter leads to rout of Columbia

The 6th-ranked Hartselle Tigers got off to a slow start in their 44-0 6A Region 8 win over Columbia but shook off the start by scoring 37 points in the second quarter.

“Scoring 37 points in the second quarter was big since we came out a little flat in the first quarter,” Hartselle coach Bryan Moore said. “It meant that many different players got touches and playing time.”

The Tigers went up 7-0 when Ri Fletcher scored on a six-yard run with 5:53 left in the first quarter.

Hartselle went up 14-0 when Lincoln Bryant scored on a four-yard run with 10:34 left in the second. Less than two minutes later, Stinnett Hagemann scored on a six-yard run to put the Tigers up 21-0 with 8:25 left in the second quarter.

With 5:00 left in the half, Landon Blackwood connected with a wide-open Noah Lee for a 40-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead.

The Tigers followed that score up with a Blackwood 19-yard touchdown pass to Fletcher to push the lead to 35-0.

Hartselle’s defense got on the scoreboard with 3:34 left in the second quarter when Porter Simmons tackled a Columbia runner in the endzone for a safety and a 37-0.

The final points of the night came with 1:50 left in the half when Gage Owenby scored on a three-yard run, which made the final score 44-0.

The Hartselle offense finished with 374 yards, 209 rushing and 165 passing. The defense held Columbia to 100 total yards, 34 rushing and 66 passing.

Bryant led Hartselle with 82 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries, while Lee had 58 yards receiving and a touchdown on two receptions.

Hartselle (3-1, 2-0) will host Gadsden City (3-1) next Friday night.

“Now it’s time to get ready for a really tough month of football,” Moore said.