Hartselle falls in double overtime
For the Enquirer
It took four quarters and two overtimes to determine a victor in the Hartselle and Austin game on Friday night.
The Black Bears outlasted the Tigers 35-34 in the game that came down to a dropped pass on a two-point conversion by Hartselle.
“We put ourselves in position to win the game but we made some crucial mistakes that cost us,” coach Bert Newton. “We played a really good team and hung with them for four quarters and two overtimes.
After a scoreless first quarter, it was Austin that broke through to put points on the scoreboard first. After holding Hartselle on a fourth down attempt, the Black Bears took over on their own 19 yard line, they went 81 yards in 14 plays that was capped off by a 30 yard touchdown pass from JL Davis to Jaxon Potter to take a 7-0 lead.
The Tigers responded with a nine play, 70 yard drive resulting in a one yard touchdown run by Jaheem Pruitt. Pruitt had 49 yards rushing on the drive. The scoring drive tied the game at 7-7 with 7:00 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Hartselle would take the lead following a 13-play, 65 yard scoring drive. Pruitt added his second touchdown of the game when he scored on a one-yard run with :19.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
The Black Bears struck first in the second half with an 11-yard touchdown pass by Davis with 9:38 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game at 14-14. The scoring drive was set up by an Austin blocked punt, giving them possession of the ball at the Hartselle 12 yard line. The Tigers retook the lead, 21-14, on a two-yard Noah Lee touchdown run with :53.6 remaining in the third quarter. The drive was set up by a bad snap on fourth down by Austin that led to their punter receiving the ball with his knee on the ground.
Early in the fourth quarter, Hartselle’s Porter Simmons ended an Austin attempt to close the gap when he blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt by Hayden Wynn.
Hartselle had a good drive that was taking time off the clock come to an end when Austin intercepted a third down Lee pass to give them a final chance to tie the game. The Black Bears would tie the game at 21-21 with a 65-yard drive capped off by a fourth down scoring run by Davis. The Austin drive was extended by a roughing the quarterback call that nullified a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jameson Falciani.
Since four quarters were not enough to determine a winner, the squads headed to overtime to determine the winner.
The Tigers had the ball first and got a three-yard touchdown pass from Lee to Markus Tapscott to take a 28-21 lead.
Austin responded with a fourth down seven yard touchdown run by Davis to tie the game at 28-28.
The Black Bears got a 10-yard touchdown pass by Davis to Potter to grab a 35-28 lead and put pressure on Hartselle to score to extend the game.
Following a holding call on the first play of the Tigers’ second possession, Lee hit Tapscott for a 19-yard scoring pass to draw with one at 35-34. The Hartselle coaching staff decided to go for the win and had the right play drawn up but the Tigers came up short on an incomplete pass.
Hartselle finished with 269 yards of total offense, including 182 yards rushing and 87 yards passing. Austin finished with 224 yards, including 185 yards passing and 39 yards rushing.
“The defense played really hard and limited a good Austin offense,” Newton said. “Our defense has a lot to grow on following this game.”
Pruitt led the Tigers with 58 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Jayden Morris added 48 yards rushing on 12 carries, while Noah Lee had 41 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Carter Lee finished with 35 yards rushing on seven carries.
Noah Lee finished 11-of-18 for 87 yards passing with two touchdowns. Tapscott had five receptions for 33 yards and two touchdowns, while Cain Falciani had two catches for 50 yards.
Hartselle (0-1) will host Jackson-Olin (0-1) on Friday, while Austin (1-0) will host Decatur (0-1) in the River City Classic.
