No. 6 Hartselle raced to a 24-point halftime lead and cruised past Athens 45-21 at Larry McCoy Field to solidify its spot atop the 6A, Region 7 standings.

Lincoln Bryant came off the bench to rush for 136 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Jack Smith passed for another as the Tigers improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Region 7.

Ri Fletcher jump-started Hartselle with a 71-yard touchdown run on the game’s third play, his 13th rushing TD of the year. Crawford Lang added the extra point and then kicked a 44-yard field goal on the next series as the Tigers went up 10-0 just six minutes into the contest.

Smith threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Izayah Fletcher and Bryant later added an 8-yard touchdown run as Hartselle built a 24-0 lead at halftime.

Jayden Morris made it 31-0 by running in from the 1 with 8:37 to go in the third quarter. Athens finally got on the scoreboard when quarterback Brogan Gross connected with Jay’shon Ridgle on a short screen pass that saw the junior wideout out-run Hartselle’s defenders down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.

The Tigers went 62 yards in seven plays on their next possession with Bryant crashing in from 11 yards out to extend his team’s lead to 38-7. Hartselle’s final points came on backup quarterback Landon Blackwood’s 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Golden Eagles scored twice in the final six minutes – a 35-yard touchdown pass from Gross to Ridgle and Larry Howard’s 5-yard run with 3.6 seconds remaining.

Athens drops to 2-5 and 0-4.

Star of the game: Bryant, a junior, replaced Ri Fletcher, who left the game with a minor ankle injury after his 71-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter. Bryant ran 13 times for 136 yards with scoring runs of eight and 11 yards as Hartselle rolled up 253 yards on the ground.

Play of the game: Hartselle received the opening kickoff and faced third-and-1 from its 29 after a pair of short completions. Ri Fletcher broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown with 10:47 remaining in the first quarter to give the Tigers a lead they never relinquished.

Stat sheet: Hartselle – Jack Smith completed 14-of-18 passes for 127 yards with one TD and one interception. Izayah Fletcher had six catches for 54 yards, all in the first half. Jakaleb Goodwin had two interceptions in a span of less than two minutes in the second quarter. Seven of Lang’s kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. Athens – Gross completed 16-of-25 passes for 251 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Howard ran 13 times for 73 yards. Ridgle had three catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

By the numbers: 21, Hartselle’s current regular-season win streak, dating back to a 19-7 loss at Athens on Oct. 2, 2020. … 8, the victory marks the seventh time in eight seasons as a head coach that Hartselle’s Bryan Moore has won at least eight games. He previously coached at Eufaula (2015-17) and Jasper (2018-2019) before going 7-4 in his first season at Hartselle in 2020. … 2, at 0-4 in the six-team region, Athens is eliminated from the 6A playoffs for the second year in a row.

Coachspeak: “I thought we were sharp early. I was really pleased with the way we came out in the second half. We had the same scenario with Cullman, up 24-0, and we didn’t play well in the third quarter. So, I was proud of our kids for coming out and battling.”– Hartselle coach Bryan Moore.

They said it: “These guys have three weeks left to play football and they deserve our best as coaches. ” – Athens coach Cody Gross.

What’s next? Hartselle concludes its Region 8 schedule when No. 8 Decatur visits J.P. Cain Stadium. The Tigers have won the last four games in a series that started in 1917.