Golden Tigers fall to Lions
By Brannon King for the FCT
Russellville faced Brooks Friday night in a Class 5A, Region 8, game. The Lions were too much for the Golden Tigers, as the visitors took the contest at RHS by a 54-21 score.
Brooks jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and pulled ahead by a 20-7 score in the second period. Then, on the following kickoff, the ball took a bounce away from a Russellville kick returner, and the Lions jumped on the loose football to keep possession.
Six plays later, Brooks was back into the end zone for a touchdown.
The lead grew to a 21-point advantage when the try for two was successful on a bobbled ball that was eventually caught by the Lions’ receiver.
The Lions had a 34-14 lead at the half and pulled away in the third quarter to hold a 47-14 lead going into the final period of play. The two teams both scored one touchdown in the fourth quarter with the BHS TD coming early in the period.
Russellville had the tough task of playing the second half without Bernard Phinizee, who was injured in first half action. Phinizee played a big role in the RHS’ win the previous week, and Russellville installed a package of plays using him as quarterback from time-to-time during the Brooks game.
“We fought back and got back into it, and then not fielding that kickoff and them recovering it, I think was the difference in their being able to hang in and keep it a close game in the second half,” Russellville head coach Mark Heaton said.
The Golden Tigers continue to make mistakes in their losses that are tough to overcome. “A lot of mental mistakes on our end and stuff like that … are things that eventually we’ve got to understand and be better at doing,” Heaton added.
The Golden Tigers (1-6, 1-4) got their first score of the game in the second quarter when Robert Hamilton scored on a 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal to finish off a successful 13-play drive. Phinizee helped set up the score with a 41-yard run from the quarterback position. Kenner Perez added the first of his three extra-point kicks to make the score 14-7.
RHS got within two scores in the second quarter when Calen Bragwell scored on a 14-yard pass from Luke Barnwell. Hamilton added his second touchdown of the night late in the fourth quarter. The senior ran in a TD from 27 yards out for the final score of the game with 2:23 remaining on the clock.
The Russellville defense had little success in stopping the high-powered offense of the Lions, which was led by Lake Spurgeon and Noah Turbyfill. Brooks scored touchdowns on all but three of their possessions during the game.
A highlight for RHS came when Rowe Gallagher intercepted a pass late in the game.
Russellville will travel to East Limestone to take on the Indians Friday night for the final road game of the season. The last two games on the schedule will take place at home for RHS.
