RHS caps spring football season
By Staff
Kim West
JASPER – Russellville football coach Doug Goodwin was pleased overall with the performance of the Golden Tigers' varsity, junior varsity and ninth-grade squads in Thursday's spring jamboree game at Walker.
"I thought Jake (Ward) played pretty well on both sides of the ball," Goodwin said. "He moved around the pocket well and made some good throws.
"The receivers did a good job of going after his passe, and the line pass-blocked well, although we didn't run-block that well. Defensively, we missed some coverages but that's due to inexperience, and it's all correctable."
Sophomore running back Jyran Darby scored the lone touchdown for Russellville, which lost the varsity game 13-7. The Golden Tigers, which had 186 yards of total yardage while allowing 186, threatened to score two other times in the first half but the drives stalled due to a dropped touchdown pass and a fumble near the end zone. The JV team battled to a scoreless tie in the third quarter, while the ninth-grade team fell 13-0 in the fourth quarter.
Ward is the team's No. 1 quarterback heading into the fall, and the junior took every snap during the first half, while junior Mason Willis, who will start at inside receiver after missing most of last season with a broken leg, played during the third quarter. Sophomore T.J. Lindsey, who is listed at No. 3 on the depth chart, played the final quarter.
"If we started playing today, Nate McAlister and Darrian Graham would line up at outside receiver, and Ryan Romans and Mason Willis would play on the inside," Goodwin said. "Romans and McAlister played a good bit last year."
The offensive line will feature returning starters Chase Woods at center and Stratt Byars at left tackle, senior Bradley Franklin, juniors Jonas Boyles and Justin Esquivel and sophomore Daniel Hollimon at guard and junior Tanner Steele at right tackle.
In the backfield, Darby will split time with senior Scotty Freeman, who will also start at inside linebacker, and sophomore Brent Calloway, who will be eligible in the fall after sitting out his freshman year due to the transfer rule.
"We wanted to find as many people we could this spring who had the right attitude and are willing to work hard," said Goodwin, who played 92 players in Thursday's game. "It's like putting a puzzle together. We got a lot of guys in the game and now we have film that we can watch on everyone."
Senior Justin Fretwell (knee), sophomore John Gregory Batchelor (knee) and Franklin (ankle) were all held out of spring drills but are expected to play this fall.
Russellville, which finished 10-2 last season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, will play a fall jamboree game Aug. 22 and host Deshler Aug. 29 in the season opener.
