Tigers drop region championship game at Muscle Shoals
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Tigers missed a chance to be region champs following their 29-28 loss on the road at Muscle Shoals this past Friday. The Tigers and the Trojans both finish region play with a 5-1 record, but Muscle Shoals wins the region based on their win Friday night.
“We played really hard tonight but we made several mistakes that cost us the game,” head coach Bert Newton said. “We will bounce back from this and work hard this next week and be prepared for our game against Mortimer Jordan.” The Tigers received the opening kick and went 72 yards in six plays, taking a little over two minutes off the clock, to take a 7-0 lead when Carter Lee scored on a 4-yard run. The drive was powered by a 44-yard pass from Noah Lee to Mar-cus Tapscott that moved Hartselle into the red zone.
Muscle Shoals responded with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to even the game at 7-7 with 9:26 remaining in the first quarter.
The Trojans added to their lead late in the first with a 22-yard field goal, capping off a 13-play, 80-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock.
Muscle Shoals extended their lead to 17-7 with a 57-yard touchdown pass with 9:54 remaining in the first half.
Hartselle finally found some rhythm on offense late in the second quarter when they took almost four minutes off the clock with an eight-play, 48-yard scoring drive. Noah Lee capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, drawing the Tigers to within three at 17-14 with 3:28 remaining in the first half.
After the Tigers defense forced a Trojans’ punt early in the third quarter, the offense capitalized on a short field, marching 37 yards in seven plays to take a 21-17 lead when Noah Lee connected with Chandler Keel for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 7:39 remaining in the third.
Muscle Shoals answered with a nine-play, 69-yard scoring drive to retake the lead, 23-21, with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Hartselle responded with a 6-play, 63-yard scoring drive with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Noah Lee scored on a oneyard run to give the Tigers a 28-23 lead. Noah Lee connected on a 36-yard pass to Cain Falciani and then a 20-yard pass to Jayden Morris to move Hartselle downfield.
The Trojans had a final answer with five seconds remaining in the third quarter, scoring on a 12-yard run to retake the lead at 29-28.
The Tigers used a six-minute drive to open the fourth quarter, moving into scoring position with a 12-play, 37-yard drive. Hartselle got to the 15-yard line and had to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt that missed to the left.
Muscle Shoals took possession with 6:08 remaining and ran the clock out to secure the victory.
Hartselle finished with 340 yards of total offense, 175 passing and 165 rushing, while Muscle Shoals had 329 yards of total offense, 172 passing and 157 rushing.
Noah Lee finished 11-of-20 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 31 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
“Noah played really well tonight,” Newton said. “He made two fourth down passes that kept drives going for us to keep us in the game.” Jaheim Pruitt had 62 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Jayden Morris had 56 yards on 14 carries. Carter Lee finished with 16 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
Tapscott had five receptions for 95 yards, while Falciani had one reception for 36 yards. Morris finished with three receptions for 28 yards and Keel had one for 10 yards and a touchdown.
Hartselle (7-2) will close out the regular season with a road trip to Mortimer Jordan (3-6) on Friday.
