Russellville’s Deyon Hill (1) dodges several Deshler defenders during Friday night’s game. Photo by Matt Wilson.

By Matt Wilson

For the FCT

Russellville was able to change the scene from a tight game at halftime to a methodical and emphatic 36-12 win Friday night at home against Deshler in the Golden Tigers’ season and home opener.

Of course there was all the pageantry of the first football game of the season as the fans filed in and the Marching 100 formed up. Of course the Tigers were lying in wait, just off the field, fuming and steaming inside the giant, inflatable helmet, like an agitated hive of bees—or a fired up gang of teenagers ready to unleash their passions and hard work and their preparations for their coaches and their classmates and their entire community to see. Of course it was Friday night and when the opening kickoff crossed the sky and the clock started moving everyone in the stadium knew what to do. High school football was back, but no one was quite sure what the season would bring for the Russellville Tigers.

After the game, head coach Mark Heaton said he knew one thing—his defense was probably going to be the strength of the team and if they played well, his team would have a chance to win all season. And so far he’s been right on the money.

The opening jamboree the prior week at Colbert County, if anything, showed that Russellville was going to be able to play defense like a stubborn concrete wall and that their players were going to be able to match up against any players on the other side of the line. And as the game Friday night started to unfold, that same defense was there and they were not ready to give up yards or points.

Collin Garrison, a sophomore defensive back for the Golden Tigers, made himself known early and often against Deshler. In the first half Garrison swatted passes away. He stuck to Deshler receivers in infuriating fashion, and he consistently found the ball carrier and made open-field tackles.

But the offense got its legs churning by the end of the opening quarter as Golden Tiger quarterback Payton Nichols connected with senior wide receiver Colby Tompkins for a 35-yard pass before tossing a one-yard pass to running back Deyon Hill for his first touchdown of the evening, capping off an impressive 80-yard drive.

The defense showed its teeth again in the second quarter, stuffing the Deshler offense and pinning them on their own 2-yard line and forcing a punt.

The Russellville offense seemingly fed off this energy and kept the pedal down, putting together a 52-yard drive and seeing Hill trot in the end zone for his second touchdown of the evening.

But just before halftime, Deshler was able to find the end zone themselves after a 30-yard pass ricocheted off of two Russellville defensive players and into the hands of the Deshler receiver. Two plays later the Deshler quarterback ran nine yards for the touchdown.

Garrison said after the game that the defense “stays together” and that they stay focused for every down.

“We just play together—we stay together and play hard every down,” Garrison said.

“Our theme is to ‘keep climbing’ and that’s what we do. Coach stays on our tail and we keep each other going strong and playing hard every down.”

As Hill was displaying the deft speed and elusiveness that makes him a tough player to tackle and racking up a 38-yard kick return and plunging over the line for his third touchdown of the evening, the defense was circled up on the sideline—keeping each other ramped up for the next series.

And when Russellville had the Deshler Tigers stalled out on the 15-yard line at fourth and nine, the quarterback for Deshler found a way to streak through a tired defense and close the gap to 22-12. Anyone in the stadium might have decided it would be all right to panic. But not the Russellville Tigers.

“Our defense played well,” Heaton said. “I knew if they played well our team would have a great chance of winning—that we would be a solid team. Our offense executed and played well, but our focus needs to get better.”

But that was it for the Deshler Tigers. Russellville had started hitting on all cylinders by the fourth quarter and Deshler couldn’t hold on. Sophomore Khem West caught a pass and scurried down to the 10-yard line before catching a seven-yard pass for a touchdown, making it 29-12. West and Hill gave Deshler fits all night running and catching passes out of the backfield.

And like a fitting end to the raucous opening night under the lights, Russellville gave Deshler one last one-two combination—Nichols hitting junior Reed Smith for the final touchdown of the evening and Garrison and the Golden Tigers defense stonewalling Deshler to seal the 36-12 win.

“That first win does feel good—God is good,” Heaton said. “I’m proud of our kids and impressed with how they played. They played with solid integrity and they played with composure. I’m very proud of that.”