Cullman came up short in its region opener on Friday night, falling to Class 6A No. 6 Hartselle 35-14.

The Bearcats dropped to 1-2 (0-1 in Region 8) following the loss, while the Tigers improved to 3-0, 1-0.

Hartselle drove the ball inside Cullman’s 5-yard line on its initial possession, but the Bearcats forced a fumble that went through the end zone for a touchback.

The Black and Gold then marched 80 yards on 11 plays, capping the drive with Noah Kee’s 9-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers, though, answered with a 12-yard scoring pass from J.T. Blackwood to Izayah Fletcher to tie things up early in the second quarter.

Cullman gained a 14-7 edge later in the stanza following Ryan Skinner’s 1-yard touchdown run.

But Hartselle closed out the first half with a bang to take a 21-14 advantage heading into the break.

Armahdeo Dunigan’s 8-yard touchdown dash brought the matchup even before Blackwood — following a punt by Cullman — connected with Fletcher once again for a 48-yard scoring strike.

The Bearcats opened the second half with a promising drive, but fumbled inside the Tigers’ 10-yard line.

Cullman reached Hartselle territory again early in the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on downs.

The road team took advantage, too, scoring a touchdown on its ensuing possession after Blackwood fumbled the ball into the end zone after a nice gain only for it to be recovered by Dunigan for the touchdown.

Hartselle recovered the kickoff shortly afterward and claimed one final touchdown — D.J. Bishop powered it in from 8 yards out — to make it 35-14.

Jake Dueland finished with 132 yards on 19 carries for Cullman. Tyler Owens added 97 yards on 17 carries.

Skinner, Drew Conway and Kee also contributed to a ground game that racked up more than 300 yards.

Blackwood, meanwhile, completed 18-of-22 passes for 242 yards.

Dunigan had 82 yards on 11 carries, and Fletcher caught five passes for 114 yards.

Cullman travels to Buckhorn next Friday night. Hartselle, meanwhile, hosts Decatur.