Golden Tigers finish regular football season with senior night loss to Athens
The Russellville Golden Tigers wrapped up the football regular season on senior night with a game versus Athens High School.
Russellville (7-3) fell to the 6A Golden Eagles by a 45-23 final score after trailing by three points entering the fourth quarter. RHS junior running back Cam Phinizee went over the 2,000 yards rushing mark for the season.
Athens had the ball first and took a 6-0 lead on a 26-yard touchdown pass, but the extra-point kick was no good. The Golden Tigers immediately followed by putting together a long drive but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Manny Martinez. The Golden Eagles went ahead 12-3 on the next possession by scoring on a 10-yard run, but the two-point try failed.
Russellville’s Whit Goodwin found a wideopen Ty Willis for a 23-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter and the Martinez extra-point kick made the score 12-10 in favor of Athens. The Golden Eagles answered on their next drive with a touchdown run and RHS fumbled the following kickoff return to set Athens up again. AHS grew their advantage to 26-10 shortly after on another touchdown rush with 4:28 to go in the first half. Russellville finished the second quarter with a scoring drive that featured a three-yard touchdown run by Phinizee, but the extra-point pass that followed was incomplete.
After the Golden Eagles missed a 36-yard field goal attempt, Russellville used the momentum to pull to within three-points with the help of a 10-yard touchdown carry by Phinizee. However, the fourth quarter belonged to AHS as the Golden Eagles scored on a 9-yard pass, a 38-yard run and a pass interception return to finish the contest.
“Against a really good football team, we had some trouble containing the quarterback,” said Russellville head coach Dustin Goodwin. “They played really fast and the speed of the game picked up. It’s a playoff-type game, and I think it’s going to be good for us. I’m really proud of the effort our kids gave and the intensity we played with. We did some really good things and that’s going to help us going forward.”
The Golden Tigers will open the 5A playoffs by hosting the Wenonah Dragons Nov. 8. Athens will face the Homewood Patriots to begin the 6A postseason.
