CULLMAN – Oliver Woodard Stadium was the place to be this Friday night. Two rivals, Hartselle and Cullman, faced off in the season opener with Cullman falling just short, as Hartselle took the win 31-25.
Cullman’s offense came out strong with the quarterback Fletcher Jennings throwing the ball to Carson Freeman for the first score of the game. Miguel Tizapa finished with the extra point. Hartselle’s offense answered that touchdown quickly with one of their own. No. 5, Connor Tumlinson, ran it in from the 1-yard line, and Hartselle made the extra point, making it 7-7 with 6:01 left in the first.
In the second quarter, whenever Cullman scored, Hartselle answered right back. No. 27, Ezra Burks, slid past the defense at the 1-yard line to score for Cullman with 3:34 left in the half, making it 14-7. With nine seconds left in the half, Hartselle’s no. 3, David Hayes, caught the pass from quarterback Luke Godsey making it 14-13. The kick was blocked by Cullman’s Canaan Lipsey.
With 9:34 left in the third, Hartselle scored and tried to go for the 2-point conversion, but they were unsuccessful, making it 19-14.
The fourth saw great effort from both sides. Hartselle scored first making it 25-14 with 8:52 left in the game. Cullman’s special team shot down the 2-point conversion for a second time. Cullman’s Carson Freeman made a massive play, running it in from the 40-yard line. The Bearcats were successful with their 2-point conversion thanks to no. 11, Dylan Finch, making the score 25-22.
Cullman then stopped Hartselle, causing them to punt. After a punt mistake, the Bearcats ended up on the 33-yard line. Burks gave a valiant effort to move it down field, but Cullman had to settle for field goal, tying the game.
With only 2:36 left in the contest, Cullman kicked off to Hartselle. Bearcat fans watched in disbelief as Hartselle’s no. 4, Keondre Swoopes, ran the ball all the way back for the winning touchdown. Cullman could not answer.
Final score: Hartselle- 31, Cullman- 25.
Great games were played by both teams. Cullman’s defense made huge fourth-down stops with junior Seth Gable standing out with big plays. Jennings and Burks clearly have great chemistry working together on the offense.
The Bearcats will play North Jackson next week at North Jackson.
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