Russellville dominates Athens, clinches home playoff game
By Staff
Scot Beard
With the second seed in Class 5A, Region 8 on the line the Russellville football team used a strong rushing attack and a pesky defense to knock off Athens 28-14 Friday.
With the win the Golden Tigers will host a game during the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.
"The defense did a great job of executing the plan," Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said. "They knew they had to get pressure on (Athens quarterback Stephen Rivers), and we gave up only 43 yards rushing."
Athens opened the scoring when Rivers found Julius Jones for a 70-yard touchdown strike with 4:11 to play in the first quarter.
Russellville answered when Brent Calloway's 50-yard kickoff return set the Golden Tigers up with excellent field position on the Athens 25-yard line.
Six plays later Joey Howe hit Jake Ward with a 12-yard touchdown pass and Jose Betancourt added the extra point to tie the game.
The following Athens drive stalled after a holding penalty against the Golden Eagles and a sack by Jesse Green set up fourth-and-22 at midfield.
Russellville took possession and began an impressive drive, picking up seven first downs on only nine plays before a holding penalty stopped the momentum and the Golden Tigers turned the ball over on downs.
Athens had an opportunity to take the lead before halftime, but Ryan Romans intercepted a pass in the end zone for Russellville on the final play.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half with a 70-yard drive to regain the lead.
Russellville responded with a 65-yard scoring drive ending with a 1-yard run by Calloway.
"I felt the game was going to go back and forth," Calloway said. "I knew if defense could get a stop, it would stop the momentum for them."
The Golden Tiger defense stopped Athens' next possession and the Russellville offense took advantage by driving 54 yards for a touchdown. Romans' 14-yard run gave Russellville its first lead of the game 21-14.
The Russellville defense stopped Athens on the ensuing possession and again the offense responded with a score when Calloway broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run with 7:25 remaining in the game.
"I felt I need to step (my game) up," Calloway said. "I wanted home-field advantage and I wanted to beat Athens."
Athens drove to the Russellville 33-yard line with less than three minutes to play, but the drive stalled. Mason Willis intercepted a pass in the end zone on fourth down to end the threat.
Athens got the ball back with 16 seconds remaining in the game but a personal foul against the Golden Eagles on the first play of the drive pushed them to midfield and a sack by Hayden Crain as time expired sealed the win.
Russellville gained 375 total yards during the game with 307 of them coming on the ground. The Golden Tigers had 226 rushing yards in the second half.
Calloway led Russellville with 144 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns while Jyran Darby carried the ball 15 times for 93 yards.
Howe completed 7-of-15 pass attempts for 68 yards. He had one touchdown and one interception.
Russellville hosts Colbert County next week in the final game of the regular season.
The Golden Tigers will host Etowah during the opening round of the state playoffs in two weeks.
