By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
East Limestone’s plan for beating Hartselle was centered on stopping the Tigers’ run Friday night at J.P. Cain Stadium.
Maybe the Indians should have worried about the Tigers’ defense as well.
Hartselle’s defense came up with several big plays - a pair of sacks and a blocked pass from Daryn Raley and a fumble recovery by Josh Slaten - to put down the feisty Indians 34-0.
The Tigers scored 27 points in the second half to blow open a tight 7-0 game.
The win, Hartselle’s second straight shutout, leaves the Tigers with a 3-0 mark. Hartselle is 2-0 in Class 5A, Region 8 play.
Hartselle didn’t win its first game last year until the seventh week of the regular season. The Tigers need just one more win to equal last season’s total.
The challenge will get tougher over the next two weeks when the Tigers will face off against the top-ranked teams in Class 5A and 3A respectively, both on the road.
Hartselle will battle Russellville for the Class 5A, Region 8 lead Friday night. The Golden Tigers have won 13 straight against Hartselle.
The Tigers scored 27 points in the second half on the way to the shutout of East Limestone, a team playing in its first season in Class 5A.
And East Limestone certainly didn’t get any special treatment from Hartselle in its first trip to the Tigers’ stadium.
Hartselle used an 11-play drive to get the game’s only first half touchdown - a 14-yard touchdown pass from Luke Bole to Andrew Howard with seven minutes left in the opening quarter.
Marquez Jones finished with 101 yards on the ground to lead the Tigers. He scored two touchdowns on the ground, giving him seven touchdowns on the season.
Fossett added 49 yards on just eight carries.
East Limestone had just two first downs in the opening quarter.
The Indians’ Grant Talbert missed a 38-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter that proved to be East Limestone’s best scoring chance in the first half.
A late East Limestone drive was stopped inside Hartselle’s 30-yard line when Raley sacked Sam Chaney just before the end of the half.
Raley had a pair of sacks and a blocked pass in the first half on several blitzes to pace the Hartselle defense.
Hartselle was limited to just 38 yards on the ground by the Indians in the first half, leaving the Tigers to concentrate on throwing the football.
The Tigers threw 20 times in the first half, including seven times in the game’s opening drive, but were unable to get an upperhand on East Limestone.
The Tigers broke open the close game with two early touchdowns in the first half to push the margin to 20-0.
Luke Bole added to the lead when he broke free on a quarterback keeper for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
Marquez Jones scored on a 1-yard run that was set up with a fumble recovery by Josh Slaten at the East Limestone 35.
The Tigers used two fourth quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
Malcolm Fossett dove into the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown reception and Jones added a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:11 remaining in the game. Fossett’s touchdown was his first career score in a varsity game.