Coach battles old team for title

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
A picture of Doug Goodwin and his son, Devin, rests on the bookcase behind Goodwin’s desk inside the spacious Russellville field house.
The two are dressed in black and blue sporting the colors of the Demopolis Tigers, the team the pair helped guide to the 2004 4A state championship. Devin Goodwin was a record setting quarterback for his father’s team that year.
Fast-forward five years and that photo seems a little out of place now.
Thursday night, Goodwin will lead the Russellville Golden Tigers against Demopolis in the 5A state championship game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Goodwin accepted the Russellville job in early 2007 and has led the Golden Tigers to a 35-6 record and back-to-back appearances in the Super Six championships since his arrival.
In 2008 he became the first coach in Alabama history to lead three different teams to the Super Six. He led Lineville to the 2A state title game twice and then beat Deshler to win the 4A crown in 2004.
Entering the 2009 season, expectations were high for a Russellville team coming off a state title game appearance the year before. Following a 3-0 start, the Golden Tigers dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 2000 and questions began to surface about the team’s ability to get back to the Super Six.
The Golden Tigers struggled in a mid-September road loss to Hartselle that included five turnovers and came at the end of an emotional day.
Senior center Justin Boyles lost his father, Mark, unexpectedly that morning.
That tough loss was followed by a second set back the next week.
St. Paul’s traveled from Mobile to hand the Golden Tigers their worst regular season loss in years, winning 24-7.
The Golden Tigers bounced back with nine straight wins, including four home playoff games.
Those seniors led them to a match up with Goodwin’s former team and a shot at the school’s first football state title since 1968. Russellville has been the state runner-up six previous times: in 1987, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008.
To capture that elusive title for Russellville, he must face-off against four former assistant coaches and a guy that he recommended to be his replacement.
Following his resignation from Demopolis, Goodwin suggested they hire a former region rival, Tom Causey, who had worked at Dallas County and Andalusia.
Goodwin said that many of the seniors on this Demopolis team played as freshmen his last year there, including one who was a starter.
Fighting through the distractions of a busy week, there is one goal at hand.