Golden Tigers visiting Lawrence County for Region 8 opener
Top-ranked Russellville answered many questions last week with a 34-13 thumping of rival Deshler.
The Golden Tigers scored on the sixth play of the game and did not look back.
“We just wanted to set the tempo,” said Darrian Graham. He was talking about that touchdown, but he might as well have been talking about the season.
This week the Golden Tigers travel to Moulton to renew an old rivalry against Lawrence County.
The Red Devils are making a move up to Class 5A after spending several years in Class 4A. Lawrence County has struggled in recent years, posting an average of three wins per season since 2005 — the last time the Red Devils had a winning season.
Lawrence County dropped its season opener to East Lawrence 24-6.
Russellville proved last week that it could win without a strong passing game. The Golden Tigers had 368 yards of total offense — with only 23 of those yards coming through the air.
Coach Doug Goodwin praised the offensive line, which had been one of the biggest questions heading into the season, for its performance in opening holes for the running backs to exploit.
Brent Calloway used the blocking to rack up 210 yards on 17 carries for two touchdowns while Tyler Boyd carried 16 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.
“That’s the rhythm we got into,” Goodwin said following the game.
He said the impressive rushing performance against Deshler was not necessarily an indication of what the offense would look like for the rest of the season.
This might be the perfect week for the Golden Tigers to open up the passing game as the offense will be facing a less athletic defense than the one it faced against Deshler. Russellville plays one of its toughest region rivals next week when it hosts Athens and would love to have the offense firing on all cylinders when the Golden Eagles come to town.
This will be the seventh meeting between Russellville and Lawrence County. The Golden Tigers are 6-0 in previous meetings with three shut outs. They have outscored the Red Devils 129-24 in the series.
