RHS Golden Tigers stay undefeated
By Brannon King / For the FCT
What a difference a year makes. Halfway through the 2017 season, the Russellville football team was 0-5. This season, the Golden Tigers have flipped their record and are 5-0.
Russellville went to Haleyville and took down their old rivals from Winston County Friday with a 35-19 win on a damp Bubba Scott Field on homecoming night for the Lions.
RHS held a slim 14-13 advantage at the half but pulled away in the final two quarters. Zaye Boyd scored three touchdowns, and Lucas McNutt threw for two scores to account for the Russellville points.
“Offensively, it was just kind of a rollercoaster,” said Russellville head coach John Ritter. “I do think we ran the football extremely well. In conditions like this, you’ve got to be able to run the ball to win the game, and we did a good job of that.”
Russellville kicked off to Haleyville to start the game, and the RHS defense forced the Lions to punt. The Russellville offense took advantage of the good field position and scored after eight plays. Zaye Boyd scored his first touchdown of the night on a two-yard run to put RHS up 7-0 after Kenner Perez added the extra point.
Haleyville then answered with a 14-play scoring drive that evened the score with less than a minute to go in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded punts, Russellville needed only three plays to find the end zone for the second time. Boyd scored again, this time on a 36-yard run to put RHS back ahead with 7:57 remaining in the first half.
The Lions later scored for the second time in the half. The extra-point kick was no good, making the score 14-13 at the break. For the first two quarters, HHS had twice as many offensive snaps as Russellville, but the Golden Tigers had the lead.
Haleyville attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but Anthony Ruiz was ready for it, and RHS started with good field position. After four runs by Boyd got Russellville deep into Haleyville territory, McNutt found Caden Parker for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
The Russellville defense forced a three-and-out, and it only took Boyd one play to outrun the Haleyville defense for a 76-yard touchdown carry. The Perez PAT made the score 28-13 with 7:03 remaining in the third period.
HHS then put together a 13-play drive, but it produced no points, as Russellville’s Angel Moreno stopped Haleyville short of the first down on a fourth-and-three play. Russellville then took over and had a 15-play scoring drive, during which a few penalties looked to only make the Golden Tigers more determined to show they could overcome the setbacks and find the end zone again.
RHS’ Rowe Gallagher scored on a 31-yard pass from McNutt to finish the drive to put the Golden Tigers up 35-14 with 6:34 remaining in the game.
The Lions scored for the final time with 3:40 to go in the game. The try-for-two failed, and RHS was able to run out the clock while moving the ball down the field.
Russellville (5-0, 3-0) will get back into Class 5A, Region 7 play next with a big home game against the Lawrence County Red Devils.
