Russellville tops Colbert County for third shutout of season

By Staff
Scot Beard
Russellville closed out the regular season with a dominating 28-0 victory against long-time rival Colbert County.
It is the 11th time the Golden Tigers have blanked the Indians and the first time since 2004.
Russellville (8-2, 5-2) held the Indians to only 34 yards of total offense – all of it on the ground – and two first downs, both in the second half.
"You can't argue with that," said Russellville coach Doug Goodwin. "Anytime you hold a team to 34 yards is big."
Russellville scored on its first possession on a 3-yard run by Brent Calloway to give the Golden Tigers a 6-0 lead. The biggest play of the drive was a 42-yard pass from Joey Howe to Ryan Romans.
Russellville blew the game open in the second quarter with an 8-yard run from Jyran Darby. Howe found Jake Ward in the end zone for the 2-point conversion.
A few minutes later Howe scored from two yards out to increase the lead to 21-0.
Ward hit Mason Willis for a 6-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to round out the scoring.
Both teams struggled to hold onto the ball, combining for 11 fumbles. Russellville lost 2-of-8 fumbles while Colbert County (4-6, 4-3) lost 1-of-3.
"It was pretty rough. Every time the ball hit me in the hands, it would slip out on me," Ward said. "I could see why there were a lot of fumbles tonight."
The Golden Tigers gained 287 yards of total offense. They gained 177 of those yards on 46 rushing attempts.
Howe and Ward combined to complete 9-of-10 passing attempts for 110 yards.
The Golden Tigers had 14 first downs.
Russellville hosts Southside-Gadsden (5-5, 4-3) next week in the opening round of the playoffs.