Hartselle Enquirer names Players, Coach of Year

Hartselle High School completed its first state championship football season in 2011 with an unblemished 15-0 record.

It’s difficult to do this any year, but to do it in Class 5A without having a single Division 1 senior college prospect, it’s almost unheard of in Alabama.

Yet the Tigers did this with a great work ethic, teamwork and the belief that they can play with any team, any time and anywhere.

That belief comes from head coach Bob Godsey. The Tigers didn’t complain that they lost several key players from the 2010 team that made the semifinals and lost a heartbreaker to Briarwood Christian in the semifinals.

They didn’t even complain about having to travel two of the four playoff rounds despite earning a No. 1 seed in region play.

The team just went back to work and reloaded again. They did it with a first-year quarterback, a tough running offense, a stingy defense and a stellar kicking game.

That credit goes back to Godsey and his coaching staff.

For that, the Hartselle Enquirer has named Godsey the 2011 Football Coach of the Year.

In his nine seasons at Hartselle, Godsey has a record of 85-27, according to the Alabama High School Football History website. His career record is 127-42, including five years at Brooks.

Godsey has a 19-10 record in the playoffs and a 71-21 record in region/area play with five region championships along with his one state championship. The Tigers have only failed to make the playoffs one time under Godsey.

The Hartselle Enquirer’s offensive player of the year is offensive lineman Will Swann.

The Tigers averaged 265.3 yards per game (3,980 yards in 15 games) on the ground and had three players rush for more than 900 yards and 11 touchdowns. For the season, Hartselle gained 5,580 yards.

The reason for that was the Tigers’ offensive line anchored by Swann at center. While the Tigers faced defensive fronts that may have been bigger, they still managed to create holes for their running backs and protect starting quarterback Deacon Aldridge.

Swann was also a first-team Class 5A All-State selection.

On defense, the Hartselle Defensive Player of the Year is linebacker Jordan Orr.

The senior led the state’s best defense which averaged allowing only 10.7 first downs per game, 76.5 rushing yards per game, 200.8 total yards per game and 9.3 points per game.

Orr also had the most tackles with 173. He had 19 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception, which came against Cullman.

In addition to his statistics, Orr played the middle linebacker position on Hartselle’s defense, which is basically the quarterback’s position on defense.