CULLMAN, Ala. – After wrapping up an undefeated regular season against Arab last week, the Cullman Bearcats returned home Tuesday night to host this year’s Tennessee Valley League seventh grade championship game and the ‘Cats took down Hartselle 12-0 to claim the league title and complete the season 7-0. James Short recorded touchdown runs of 85 and 55 yards along with several big tackles on the defensive side of the ball to earn Championship Game MVP honors.
Bearcats Head Coach Gerald Turner has spent nearly two decades on the sideline at Cullman Middle School and has coached a lot of great teams and players but admits this year’s team has been special to coach.
“It was just a lot of hard work and unity every day. No one ever complained, everyone just did their job and did what they were supposed to do. We do a lot of different stuff here at the middle school. We throw the ball all around the field and use a lot of different formations, but these guys stepped right up and caught right on,” Turner said. “That’s something special about these kids here. A lot of times when something doesn’t work, we just draw it up in the dirt and they’re smart enough to figure it out and that’s what makes them special.”
In addition to the efforts of his players, Turner wanted to acknowledge his coaching staff and the work they put in to help their players and teams reach their goals on and off the field.
“These teams are special. I’ve been here 18 years, 16 as a head coach and we went on a 34-game winning streak but it’s just never enough for these guys, we just keep coaching, and the kids keep playing. Most of my assistant coaches played for me I’ve been here so long, and I couldn’t ask for better help,” Turner said. “These guys take care of our kids, they love them, they teach them football but not only that, they teach them a lot about life. We use football to teach about life, that’s really our job, the football will take care of itself.”
After a high snap sailed over quarterback Shannon Wynn’s head on the game’s first play, the Bearcats made up for it on the very next snap when James Short took a handoff from Wynn 85 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to put Cullman in front 6-0 just one minute into the first quarter.
After both teams exchanged a pair of punts, the Tigers were able to put a drive together late in the second quarter and move into Bearcat territory but an interception by Walker Gentry stopped the drive short and gave the ball back to Cullman’s offense near midfield. The ‘Cats went into the halftime break leading 6-0 but Hartselle came out to start the third with another good drive.
The Tigers converted on fourth down to move the ball inside Cullman’s 20-yard line but Short burst through the middle of the line on a blitz to make a big tackle for loss and set up fourth and long at the end of the third quarter. On fourth down, Gentry broke up another Hartselle pass to force a turnover on downs and give the ball back to the Bearcats at the start of the fourth.
Just a few plays later, Short took off down the Cullman sideline for his second touchdown of the night, this time from 55 yards out, and made it a 12-0 game with just over three minutes to play. The Tigers threatened to score one more time in the final minute of the game, but Levi Voss picked off a Hartselle pass and returned it all the way down to the 6-yard line to preserve the shutout and secure a 12-0, championship win for the Bearcats.
Cullman Middle School’s eighth grade team will be looking to finish its own perfect season Thursday night when they host Muscle Shoals for the eighth grade Tennessee Valley Championship Game at 6 p.m.
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