Nov. 13—HARTSELLE — When Hartselle hits the road for the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, it’s going to be a homecoming for coach Bert Newton.
The Tigers will play at Waldrop Stadium, Homewood’s home field. It’s where Newton himself played from 1993-96.
“It’s going to be pretty special for me,” Newton said. “There’s going to be a lot of my friends and family in that stadium Friday night.”
But Waldrop Stadium isn’t just where Newton competed in high school, it’s also home to Bob Newton Field, which is named after the Bert’s father. Bob won five state championships at Homewood after taking over the program in 1995.
Bert was part of that first team and said his dad’s coaching style had a huge impact on him, especially in his current role.
“You can ask anybody and they’ll tell you, he was pretty tough to play for,” Newton said. “But at the same time, he was kind of a player’s coach before a player’s coach was really a thing.
“… Playing for him is something that’s always going to be special for me.”
Newton said Bob would be in attendance on Friday, but the former Homewood coach would be required to go along with a twist.
Rules, after all, are rules.
“My wife has already told him he has to sit on the visiting side,” Newton said. “And he said, ‘Well, I ain’t never done that before.’ I think he’ll be rooting for the Hartselle Tigers, but we’ll see.”
Perhaps in more ways than one.
Waldrop Stadium isn’t the only thing that feels familiar to Newton. The coach sees plenty of similarities between the Tigers (10-1) and Patriots (10-1).
“Offensively, they have a talented quarterback and receiver, two good running backs and they’re strong up front,” Newton said. “Defensively, they don’t have a lot of Division I guys, but they’re always in the right spot. They’re well coached, they tackle well and they do things the right way.”
So, if you’re playing a team that’s almost identical to your own, that begs the question, what kind of game plan would you come up with to beat yourself?
An interesting proposition. And one Hartselle will see if it can figure out — on the road no less.
This will be the third straight season the Tigers have traveled for a second-round matchup. They lost at Gadsden City and Oxford, respectively, the last two trips.
Hartselle, however, believes it’s more confident this time around and a big reason is health. The Tigers dealt with a slew of injuries in those road games. This time, Newton said his team is as healthy as it can be “at this stage of the season.”
Newton also said his team has a different edge about it this year.
“I sent out a message before our practice on Monday that tough kids could wear shorts,” Newton said. “I was just joking around, but it ended up being a mistake because that meant I had to wear shorts and it was freezing outside.
“But the kids had a lot of fun with it, our defensive line went with shorts, no sleeves, no tights or anything. They’re just fired up to still be practicing and they’re fired up to have a chance to continue our season on Friday.”
That the goal.
And if Hartselle pulls off the win on Bob Newton Field? It’ll mean plenty to the younger Newton. Just don’t expect him to convince his dad the field it might be in for a name change if that’s the result.
“That field will always be Bob Newton Field,” Newton said. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
