Golden Tigers working hard this summer in quest to regain Class 5A, Region 8 title

By Staff
Scot Beard
RUSSELLVILLE – Russellville High School football fans may have been disappointed last season when the Golden Tigers failed to clinch a region championship and did not get past the second round of the playoffs.
With the loss of several key players, the fans might not be too happy about the team's prospects this season. Russellville coach Doug Goodwin is optimistic, saying he has been happy with the players' commitment this summer.
"The (players) coming to the summer workouts have worked hard," said Goodwin. "They have worked harder than any Russellville team since any of these coaches have been here."
The Golden Tigers will have to work hard if they want to win the region.
They lost several key players including quarterback Cory Trapp, tailback Michael Abernath and receivers Corey Flanagan and Caleb Mitchell on offense. The defensive side of the ball also took a hit, loosing linebackers Torey Baird, Josh James and Kory Suggs along with defensive backs Jacob Daniel and Siran Winston.
The special teams unit will also have to replace Josh Montgomery who handled all of the Golden Tigers' kicking duties last season.
Goodwin said he has to fill many holes in the roster, but he likes what he has seen during this summer's 7-on-7 drills and technique drills.
"The hardest thing in summer is getting (all the players) here. There is so much going on with camps, baseball and basketball," Goodwin said. "When we get them all here, they looked good."
The problem with technique drills for the linemen and the 7-on-7 drills for the skill positions is that neither exercise is an accurate football simulation. Goodwin said the spring game was a better way to judge where the team stands right now.
"In the spring game, we did some good things on offense, but we need to run better," Goodwin said. "Defensively, it looked good, but we gave up a few runs."
He said the team has the players capable of filling in for last year's seniors, but they are inexperienced.
"You are only as good as your competition," Goodwin said.
This year, Russellville will have plenty of competition to test its players' abilities. The team will play in one of the toughest regions in the state and has probably the most difficult schedule in Alabama.
Seven of the Golden Tigers opponents made the playoffs last year. Four region foes – Butler, East Limestone, Hartselle and J.O. Johnson – earned playoff berths.
The non-region schedule is even more brutal. Deshler was the Class 4A runner-up last season while St. Paul's won the Class 5A state championship. This year's final game is against Colbert County, a team that reached the Class 3A semifinals last fall.
"It just happened that way," Goodwin said of his team's non-region schedule. "Deshler and Russellville are long-time rivals and Colbert County and Russellville used to be rivals. With St. Paul's, there were only three teams in 5A that had open dates in week five."