Russellville hosts McAdory in semifinal showdown
By Staff
Scot Beard
For the sixth consecutive week the Russellville football team will be playing in the friendly confines of its home stadium.
It is where the Golden Tigers (11-2) would like to be as they host McAdory in the semifinals with a trip to the state championship game on the line.
The team is coming off one of its best performances of the season, a 42-14 pounding of top-ranked Cullman.
"Hopefully there will be some good carry over," Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said. "Hopefully we can get the same effort and come out and play well."
The Golden Tigers played well in all three phases of the game against Cullman. The defense kept the Bearcats at bay, the special teams units kept Cullman in difficult field position and the offense was firing on all cylinders.
Russellville will need to continue to get that type of production from everybody against McAdory.
The Yellow Jackets (11-1) have a high-powered offense that is averaging 31 points per game. They have scored at least four touchdowns in nine of their games.
Quarterback Brandon Bender, who keeps plays alive with his scrambling abilities, is the leader of the offense. He completed 9-of-17 passes for 200 yards and rushed for a touchdown in McAdory's 31-28 victory against Hartselle last Friday.
"We have to tackle the quarterback," Goodwin said. "He is small, but he is quick. He looks like a squirrel caught in traffic."
Goodwin said McAdory's biggest asset is their quickness. The entire backfield is small but they all have speed.
The Golden Tiger defense proved last week they could handle an offense featuring big players. Now they must prove they can stop the speed.
The defense has performed well during the playoffs, allowing an average of 230.7 total yards and 6.7 points per game.
Goodwin said the Yellow Jackets offense is based in the double-wing set much like what Muscle Shoals runs. The Golden Tigers shut out Muscle Shoals 14-0 and limited them to 174 total yards two weeks ago.
The Russellville offense will need to continue to produce like it did last week, as McAdory's defense has allowed an average of only 13.3 points per game.
The offensive line played well, giving quarterback Joey Howe all the time he needed to find open receivers. If the linemen can do that again, they will give the Golden Tigers an excellent shot at returning to the state championship game.
It will be a tough task though as McAdory's speedy players give the Yellow Jackets the perfect players to bring several blitzes to keep opposing quarterbacks from finding their rhythm.
"They bring a lot of pressure to take advantage of speed and make up for their lack of size," Goodwin said.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools and the first time McAdory has played in a semifinal game.
The Yellow Jackets are 4-10 all time in road playoff games, and this will be their first road game of the 2009 playoffs.
Russellville is 6-4 all time in semifinal games and 4-1 at home during the semifinals.
