Hartselle holds scrimmage

Blake Slayton tries to elude the tackle of Toby Sims. | Brent Maze

Fans and family members of the 2011 Hartselle Tigers got their first look at the team Saturday night during a scrimmage following its Meet the Tigers program.

What they saw were big plays in all three phases of the game, but head coach Bob Godsey said he wanted to get some plays on film to show his players what they are doing.

“I can’t really tell just how well we did until we go back and look at the film,” Godsey said. “We wanted to get some plays on film. All I wanted to see from our players was great effort.”

Jeston Thompson catches a 75-yard touchdown pass from Deacon Aldridge. | Brent Maze

The biggest play from scrimmage was Deacon Aldridge’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Jeston Thompson. Tate Mathis added the extra point.

Then after the defense forced a three-and-out by the offense, Waid Miller returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown.

The defense also forced an interception via Tyler Phillips and a fumble recovery by Alec Durand.

Aldridge finished 4-for-10 for 105 yards and an interception while Thompson had two receptions for 83 yards. Second-string quarterback Brett Blackwood was also 5-for-5 for 22 yards.

The leading rusher was Blake Slayton who had eight carries for 62 yards including a 38-yard carry on a fourth-and-1 play.

“We had some big plays on both sides of the ball,” Godsey said. “We’re just going to have to learn from this and get better.”

The scrimmage also allowed officials to receive training while giving Hartselle an opportunity to practice with penalty flags.

“It was good to get to practice with officials and see just how we’re doing,” Godsey said. “There’s more than 150 officials in our association and they’re using this for a training exercise. We’re glad that we were able to assist them with that and it helps us too.”

The junior varsity also scrimmaged for a quarter. Deandre Mack had an 11-yard touchdown run while Travis Crow had a fumble recovery.