Sidney Steel was the leading rusher and receiver in the fall jamboree game. | Brent Maze

Hartselle picked up where it left off last season Friday night against Huntsville, as the Tigers picked up a 34-7 win in its preseason jamboree.

It didn’t matter whether the first string or the freshman team was on the field, Hartselle wasn’t going to let Huntsville move the football very much. The Tiger defense allowed just 255 yards for the game, most of which came in the second half.

And when the Panthers got within scoring range, the Tigers usually came up with big plays.

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Hartselle head coach Bob Godsey said the success, especially of his younger players, was due to his coaching staff.

“I was really proud of our young guys tonight,” Godsey said. “That’s a credit to the coaching staff of getting them ready to play. Pretty much the entire fourth quarter, we had a freshman defense out there. It was good to see them play well.”

The Tigers did start a little sloppy, as five first-half penalties and a big sack ended promising drives early in the jamboree. Godsey said that may be attributed the players being a little over-hyped for the first game.

“(Quarterback) Deacon (Aldridge) was running about mach 10 there at the beginning,” Godsey said. “But once he settled in, he started making some plays out there.