Hazel Green defeats Sparkman
The Hazel Green Trojans, coming off a key Region 8 upset win over Huntsville, could have been primed for an upset.
Instead they took control of the game early in route to a 38-17 win over the home standing Sparkman Senators, who celebrated Military Appreciation Night. The Senators also served as host for the Monrovia Middle and Sparkman Middle school bands, who performed with the High School band in a pre-game show. Performing with the Varsity cheerleaders were local youth league cheerleaders. The Senators also played host to the local middle school and area youth football teams.
The Trojans put up a 24 point cushion in the first half before Sparkman made it interesting with 10 unanswered points in the third quarter. After the opening kickoff and three plays Sparkman punted and the Trojans quickly went on a 7 play, 50 yard drive culminated when Rodney Held took a direct snap and found the end zone from the one yard line.
Late in the first quarter following another Sparkman punt Hazel Green went on another long drive, 55 yards in 6 plays with Held again taking a direct snap for the 5 yard touchdown run. A key play on the drive was a 31 yard pass from quarterback Russell Denman to Dylan Mount.
In what seemed an instant replay of their previous scoring drive the Trojans again marched down the field, with Denman hitting Robert Baugh with a 43 yard strike before finding Baugh in the corner of the end zone for a 15 touchdown pass. A stalled drive ended with a 28 field goal by Mason Shockley and the 24-0 half time lead.
The Senators battled back in the third quarter with a 34 yard field goal by Miller Matzek and 10 yard scoring pass from Grant Banks to Brandon Massey.
Eating up the clock and basically putting the game away Hazel Green went on a 75 yard drive ending with a third scoring run from Held, this time for 3 yards and a 31-10 lead. Nathan Linville scored on a 20 yard run for the Trojans and the Sparkman’s Banks and Massey connected on a 36 yard pass for the final score.
Hazel Green rises to 3-1 (2-1 in Region 8) and Sparkman falls to 0-4 (0-3). Sparkman will host undefeated and ranked #5 in the state Clay-Chalkville while Hazel Green travels to face Albertville.
BY JIM SANDOVAL / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
