Hazel Green gets tuneup for regular season opener

Huntsville-  Hazel Green coach Will Wagnon saw a lot he liked in his team’s 16-7 win over Huntsville in Jamboree action Thursday night.

Chase Starling played quarterback in the first half and led the Trojans on a touchdown drive in the second quarter that was capped off by George Obiyor’s 6-yard touchdown run. Starling ran a few option keepers but mostly stayed on the ground with Obiyor. Wide outs Devin Harvey and Jalen Jones had several balls thrown their way.

The Trojan defense allowed one big play, an 80-yard run by Huntsville’s Demario Patton, for the Panthers only points of the game. Otherwise there was a big hit by defensive end Don Shackelford that got the fans attention. Middle linebacker Jacob Anderson also had a solid half.

The starters played the first half then retired. Garrett Cross kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Hazel Green a 10-7 halftime lead.

“Our defense played excellent except for one play and that was a lack of communication that cost us a touchdown,” Wagnon said. “I’m real excited about our defense I think it will be a strength of our team. Our offensive line played well. We controlled the line of scrimmage. We still need to get better in some areas but overall it was what I needed to see.”

Hazel Green freshman quarterback Jacob Medlen played the second half and led the Trojans on a scoring drive to open the third quarter.

Wagnon said that he saw some good things from starting quarterback Chase Starling and all indications are he will start against Buckhorn next week.

“We are not asking him to win the game. We need him to manage the offense, get the ball to the guys that need it, protect the ball and he did that tonight. That last interception just before the half was my fault I take the blame for that,” Wagnon said.

Huntsville got flagged for a late hit personal foul.

Wagnon said he is practicing his players on how to handle confrontations to avoid getting personal foul penalties.

“Buckhorn is a rival game and there will be a lot of emotion, so we need to handle that well.”