Making history: Both Hatton boys and girls advance to Final Four

Feb. 28—HANCEVILLE — In 1999 Justin Henley was the hero of Hatton, hitting the game winning free throws to defeat Pickens County and send the Hornets to the Final Four.

Now Henley has returned to lead the Hornets to the Final Four once again, this time as head coach.

Hatton knocked off Sheffield on Friday morning in a 50-47 thriller, earning their first trip to the Final Four since 1999.

"It's unbelievable. Maybe in a few days I can find words to describe it," said Henley. "I'm so proud of these kids. They just played their tail off. We got down, but they just continued to fight."

Hatton trailed during the first three quarters, falling behind by as many as 14 points in the second period, but, as they have all postseason, the Hornets found a way to win.

"It's just our toughness," Henley said. "It's what we've tried to instill in them since Day 1: just that ability to keep fighting. Kids these days get so emotional with all the highs and the lows of a game, but you just gotta keep playing, and we've been able to do that recently."

Ridge Harrison led the Hornets with 16 points. Kris O'Dell had 12, and Braden Stafford finished with 10.

Hatton moves on to the Final Four on Wednesday. In the meantime, Henley will soak in all the excitement of leading his alma mater back to Birmingham.

"I'm so happy to be able to do this for this community because there're so many great people here, some that I've known for a long time," Henley said. "I'm so excited for us and the girls to be going. It's going to be a good time."

Hatton girls 61, Falkville 25: For a whole year the message for Hatton was simple, Birmingham or bust. Friday morning, they achieved that goal.

After two years of coming up just short, the Hatton Lady Hornets finally punched their ticket to the Final Four, defeating Falkville 60-26

"This is a feeling I've never felt before. It's unreal," said Hatton head coach Chasta Chamness. "We've worked so hard to get here, and finally things have fallen into place."

The Hornets led 20-3 after the first quarter and 34-12 at halftime before cruising to the win. Kamie Kirk led Hatton in scoring with 17 points, while Josie Harville had 15. Savannah Fowler had 12 for Falkville.

Hatton moves on to the Final Four. The Hornets' goal all season may have been Birmingham, but Chamness said that changes now.

"We're not finished. We're not going to celebrate too much because we've got Lanett on Wednesday," Chamness said. "Our goal was to get to Birmingham, but now it's a different goal. It's time to bring that blue map (on the championship trophy) home."

Both Hatton's boys and girls have advanced to the Final Four, the first time in school history that has occurred.

For the girls, this is their first trip since 2004, when they defeated Pisgah to win the state championship. Pisgah is also back in the Final Four this year. The Lady Hornets will take on Lanett on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. The semi-finals and finals this year for 2A will take place at Bill Harris Arena at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Hatton comes into the game 25-3 and have won nine in a row since losing in the finals of the Lawrence County tournament to Lawrence County on January 22. The Hornets have won those nine games by an average of 45 points. Lanett's girls have a record of 10-8, but have won six of their last seven, including defeating LaFayette in the Elite Eight to avenge their loss in the area championship.

Hatton's boys come into the Final Four for the first time since 1999, when current head coach Henley was an All-State senior for the Hornets. That year Hatton fell in the state finals to Catholic Montgomery 63-57.

Hatton's boys come into the game at 18-7. They've had a knack for drama this postseason, winning their last four games by single digits, including overcoming double-digit deficits in each of their last two games.

They will take on Lanett at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Bill Harris Arena. The Panthers are 18-4 and were ranked No. 5 in the last Class 2A basketball poll.