Sky's the limit for RHS

By Staff
Kim West
Sports Editor
I expected a back-and-forth game Friday night since Russellville High School varsity boys had to face defending champion Muscle Shoals in the TimesDaily Classic tournament finals.
But the Golden Tigers, who were making their seventh finals appearance in the tournament's 25-year history, claimed its fifth championship and first since 2001 with an a dominating 89-59 win over the Trojans, a Class 5A, Area 16 archrival and the tournament champion in 2005 and 2006.
With Russellville leading by 25 points at halftime, the only suspense remaining was whether or not Russellville guard Cory Trapp, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, would win the 3-point shootout and which player would represent the Golden Tigers in the fan-favorite slam dunk contest.
Russellville has won nine straight games to open its season, despite playing without 6-9 post player Nate Dunstan, who is out with a broken wrist. Reserve post Tucker Hammock has also missed several games due to some out-of-town performances in a play.
Russellville has been outsized a few times this season, but they haven't been outmatched yet thanks to their superior speed, deadly outside shooting and a team chemistry that somehow developed quickly despite starting the regular season with limited practice while Trapp, senior point guard Siran Winston and reserves Yovanni Ramirez and Mason Willis played football through mid-November.
The Golden Tigers will play in the WQSB tournament in Boaz Dec. 26-27, and their competition will include 6A teams Pinson Valley and Clay-Chalkville and 5A schools Etowah and John Carroll, a basketball powerhouse that has produced Alabama star Ronald Steele and several state titles.
Then the Golden Tigers will open area play Jan. 4 in a rematch against Muscle Shoals, who should give Russellville a much better game the next time around.
The Golden Tigers might not return from Boaz with a trophy, but they will play teams that use different styles and offer a higher level of competition than the TimesDaily tournament's field of 16 local teams.
It's a little premature to talk about the playoffs since there are still several weeks remaining until the regional tournaments begin, but I think the sky's the limit for Russellville because the Golden Tigers, who are averaging over 80 points per game, haven't even reached their peak yet.
Kim West is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. She can be reached at kim.west@fct.wpengine.com or (256) 332-1881, ext. 30.