Hartselle, AL - Hartselle, Tanner and Madison are buzzing this week, waiting for their gridiron heroes to take the field in three different Alabama State Championship games.
For the Hartselle Tigers, they'll be taking on Vigor for the Class 5A title on Thursday night. The team is leaving for Tuscaloosa on Thursday morning, about 8 hours before their game. Athletic Director Johnny Berry said Hartselle is taking a parent and spirit bus and that about 20 seats are still available.
Madison Academy Mustangs are preparing for the tough offense of Handley. Both teams will meet for the first time and are playing for their first state championship on Thursday morning.
Madison Academy followed an unlikely path the title game. The Mustangs lost their first two games of the season (North Jackson and Sardis). The team has since won 12 straight games, including pitching four shutouts, en route to a 12-2 season.
WAAY-31's Kyle Burger reported that the Mustangs winning streak, coincidentally, started when head coach
Dr. Eric Cohu began reading pages of inspiration before each practice.
In Tanner, Rattlers fans are eager for their team's shot at 2A glory. Tanner will take on Elba at Bryant-Denny Stadium Friday afternoon. Several fans have told our news partner,
the Decatur Daily that they plan to travel with the team to the game. “We’re trying to have school, but it’s hard to focus. We just want to go play the game today,” Principal Billy Owens told the Daily.
All three games will be shown on WAMY-TV (Channel 8) in Huntsville.
Thursday : 11:00 a.m. - Handley vs. Madison Academy
7:00 p.m. - Vigor vs. Hartselle
Friday : 3:00 p.m. - Elba vs. Tanner
