Swindall pleased with players' response to loss

By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
The Russellville Golden Tigers bounced back strong from a Week 10 loss to Florence with last Thursday's thumping of Sylacauga, but head coach Perry Swindall was already feeling positive about his team's playoff prospects well before their first-round game kicked off.
"I felt good about our chances the Monday after the Florence loss, because our kids seemed to have the right attitude about it," said Swindall, whose team saw its 28-game regular season win streak end with a mistake-filled 14-13 loss to the Falcons. "They knew they had messed up and let their chance to be 10-0 slip away, and they came to practice on Monday with the attitude of, 'Okay, we screwed up against Florence, now let's go to work.'
"The Florence loss was good for us, because our guys were getting complacent. They were starting to think they could goof around and still beat people, and now they know that's not the case. I look at that game as an anomaly. It was definitely a wake-up call for us."
After having more turnovers (three) than touchdowns (two) against Florence, Russellville's offense was back in top form against Sylacauga. The Golden Tigers rolled up 471 yards of offense and 31 first downs in blasting the Aggies 49-3.
Junior quarterback Cory Trapp was in rhythm all night, completing 24-of-31 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Running backs Mike Abernathy and Kirby Nelson each caught eight passes and finished with a combined 305 yards from scrimmage.
This week, the Golden Tigers (10-1) turn their attention to Friday's second-round matchup with Mortimer Jordan, a somewhat familiar foe.
"We played them in 2001 and 2002, and they pretty much have the same type of team now that they did back then," said Swindall, who has amassed a 98-20 record (including 22-6 in the playoffs) since arriving at Russellville in 1998. "They're big and physical, and they play a tough brand of football. They have a lot of hard-nosed kids, and they're definitely a formidable foe."
Russellville's defense, coming off a dominant performance last week, must now find a way to stop the Blue Devils' stout running game.
"They run the Wing-T offense, and they have a strong ground attack," said Swindall, whose team held Sylacauga to less than 200 total yards. "Their offensive line is big and strong, and they have some fast running backs. They throw it decently well, but they're definitely a ground-attack kind of team."
Swindall also said the Blue Devils (9-2) have a tough defense befitting their smash-smouth style on offense.
"They're big and physical on the defensive side of the ball, too," he said. "They've got skill guys at defensive back, and they've got great size on the defensive line."
Mortimer Jordan went 8-2 during the regular season and finished second to Gardendale in Class 5A, Region 6. The Blue Devils beat Butler 23-6 in last week's first round.