RHS’ season ends with loss to Indians
By Brannon King / For the FCT
The Russellville Golden Tigers went into Friday night’s home game with long-time rival Colbert County knowing it would take a win against the Indians and a loss by Lawrence County for the season to continue. Those two things didn’t happen, as the Golden Tigers fell to Colbert County on senior night at RHS by a 23-16 score, and Lawrence County took care of West Point in another key game.
The Golden Tigers missed out on the playoffs but found some success in the second half of a season that got off to a slow start. The team finished with a 3-7 record after a 0-5 start.
The struggles were a new experience for the seniors of the team and also for their head coach, but everyone kept working together to find a way to turn things around. “I’ve never been anywhere four years, and when I came in, this senior class were freshmen. They’ve experienced a lot of success, and so we went through some stuff this year that they’ve never been through,” head coach Mark Heaton said.
“I’m so thankful for the trust and belief that they had in me,” Heaton added. “Through the good times and through the bad times, they have always been there for me. They’ve always backed me and never gave up on us, and they always believed.
“This is one of the most special groups that I’ve coached, and I mean that. I’ve had a lot of wins in my career that God has blessed me with, but this group of seniors has helped me get through something that I’ve never been a part of. I’ll never forget that, and I’ll never forget them.”
The Golden Tigers and Indians played a scoreless first quarter, but Colbert County finished off a long scoring drive with a seven-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter. The drive was kept alive by a successful fake punt earlier in the possession.
Russellville answered with a nine-play scoring drive that was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Kenner Perez to make the score 7-3. The Golden Tigers threatened to score with possession of the ball inside the CCHS 10-yard line just before the half, but a sack by the Indians’ defense was a big play in the game. Russellville had no time-outs remaining and quickly tried to get lined up, as time was running out. The field goal try would have been good, but all of the Golden Tigers were not set at the snap, and time expired in the half.
The Golden Tigers came out in the second half with plenty of fight left in them. On the first play of the third quarter, Jeff Lloyd intercepted a Colbert County pass. On the next play, Bernard Phinizee ran 25 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick was no good, but the Golden Tigers held a 9-7 lead.
Late in the third quarter, the Indians tried to convert an interception into points, but after driving to the RHS two-yard line, CCHS fumbled, and Will Rushing recovered the ball for RHS. However, Russellville couldn’t move the ball far on the following drive, and a fumble by the Golden Tigers put Colbert County in great position to take the lead – which they did, a two-point conversion pushing the score to 15-9 for the Indians. On the next play from scrimmage, Luke Barnwell fumbled, and the Indians recovered. It took only one play for the Indians to find the end zone again. The two-point pass was caught, and CCHS had a 23-9 advantage.
The Golden Tigers never gave up. Robert Hamilton caught a Barnwell pass and made great moves to avoid defenders, scoring a 19-yard touchdown with 6:03 remaining in the game. The RHS defense then forced a punt to give the offense one last attempt, but an interception sealed the win for the Indians.
