By Staff
Justin Schuver, Sports Editor
Hartselle coach Bob Godsey was as quiet and terse as I’d ever seen him, following Hartselle’s 23-13 loss Friday night. And who can blame him? He’d just watched his team lose in the most heart-wrenching manner, with Athens scoring a touchdown in the last two minutes off a bizarre (you can call it fluky, if you’d like) tipped pass. I’d be pretty wiped out after an emotional experience like that, as well.
But the coach said something in our interview that really summed up this season, in my mind.
What were those good things? How about these:
There is certainly more you can add to this list, but no matter how you look at it, these Tigers had what should be remembered as one of the best years in the school’s history. It is tough right now, considering just how close Hartselle was to making it to Birmingham, but when the Tigers look back on 2006 they’ll have more reasons to smile than to frown.
Hartselle senior nose guard Daniel Filiatrault had to deal with a frustrating ankle injury in the third quarter that forced him to the sideline for the remainder of the game. Following the loss Friday, he made a post to his blog. Here is an excerpt from that blog, and a look back at the season through one of the players who lived it:
We said our final goodbyes, packed up all our stuff, and headed out the door for the last time. As I stepped out the door, I heard a sound I never would have guessed to hear after a loss. Cheering. At that moment I realized that what hurt the most wasn’t my ankle or a dead dream, it was the thought we let everyone down. The crowd’s applause let us know it was ok. The cheering told us, ‘You didn’t let us down.’ This game united an entire town for 13 weeks. We fought our hearts out, and in the end we came up short. But this season has taught me much about life and given me many great memories.
If you [the fans] take anything away from this, please take my thanks. You guys have really been the best crowd I have ever seen. Especially thanks to the seniors in the student section, I don’t remember a student section as loud and inspiring as you guys. I hope everyone had fun this year.
I know I did.”