Ri Fletcher led Hartselle with three touchdowns as the fifth-ranked Tigers beat Buckhorn 52-7 on Friday to advance to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Fletcher scored on a 61-yard run, a 50-yard punt return and an 85-yard kickoff return to spark Hartselle to a 42-7 halftime lead.

The Tigers (11-0) picked up their first postseason win since 2018 and will host Center Point in the second round.

“That’s big,” Hartselle coach Bryan Moore said. “We dominated the game from the start. We should have. It’s something we talked about all week. Being able to come out, control the line of scrimmage. The biggest thing was resting our (starters) in the second half.”

Terrence Robinson accounted for Buckhorn’s lone touchdown with a 48-yard run.

Buckhorn finished its season 3-8 and lost its eighth consecutive postseason game. The Bucks’ last playoff win was in the 2005 5A semifinals against Russellville.

Despite the setback, Buckhorn coach Matt Patterson praised his players for their efforts and predicted a promising future for his team.

“I’m very proud of our seniors,” Patterson said. “Tremendous leadership all year long. This team could have rolled over and played dead a couple of times throughout the year and they didn’t. They kept getting off the mat and kept coming to work and earned a playoff spot. It wasn’t given to us. We had to go out and earn it. We’ll get better and grow up. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back next year.”