Golden Tigers fall to No. 5 Fairview in 3OT instant classic
In a dramatic and thrilling overtime game against the No. 5 ranked team in Class 5A football, the Russellville Golden Tigers came up just short against the Fairview Aggies, losing 50-49 after a successful two-point conversion by the visitors in the third overtime period sealed their defeat.
A back-and-forth affair billed as the de facto Region 7 title bout, Russellville (4-2, 3-1) and Fairview (5-0, 4-0) traded touchdowns throughout the game, eventually sending it to overtime where the visitors were ultimately able to come out on top after a gutsy decision to go for two.
“I thought both teams played really hard, gave it everything they had, but for us there were too many missed opportunities offensively, defensively, and even in the kicking game,” first-year Russellville head coach Dustin Goodwin said. “All in all, the game comes down to three or four plays and if you make the plays we win and if you don’t then you get the result like we got tonight.
“I’m proud of the effort we played with but, you know, we gotta find a way to learn from it and get better,” he added.
In the first half the Aggies drew first blood with a two-yard touchdown pass after a time-consuming drive, but the Golden Tigers answered almost immediately with a 72-yard touchdown rush by junior running back Cameron Phinizee to tie it up before the end of the first period.
The second quarter played out almost the same way as the first with Fairview taking the lead and Russellville answering.
Russellville’s second touchdown of the night came following a defensive stop. After a missed 36-yard field goal by Manny Martinez, a result the officials under the goal posts took an unusually long time to determine, the Aggies got the ball back. The Golden Tigers sent on the field goal unit after a Cameron Phinizee touchdown run during the drive was called back because of a penalty, something that has plagued Russellville all season. (The Golden Tigers have had eight Phinizee touchdowns called back this season.)
“We just ask our kids to play by the rules and play hard. That’s all we can control,” Goodwin said.
After the missed field goal, the Golden Tiger defense forced a punt—a bad one—giving the hosts good field position. Whit Goodwin, later on in the drive, was able to run it in from a yard out to make it 14-14 at halftime.
Russellville’s deferral after winning the coin toss gave the Golden Tigers the ball to start the second half, and the hosts took advantage. Russellville avoided a near-disastrous turnover when an interception by Whit Goodwin was overturned by a Fairview penalty. On the next play, Phinizee took the handoff up the middle and hustled for 50 yards for the score to make it 21-14.
The Aggies tied it up again on their next possession, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run with 7:50 to go in the third, but the Golden Tigers were able to retake the lead with an eight-yard touchdown run by Goodwin who, after faking the handoff to Phinizee—a move the defense had to respect—took it in himself.
Russellville’s head coach said the threat from Phinizee’s rushing attack allowed the Golden Tigers to utilize the quarterback’s rushing ability, as well.
“Cam’s Cam. We know we’ve gotta run the ball to win, but I think it’s important to make the defense defend 11 players,” Goodwin said. “Whether that means reading things with the quarterback or getting it out on the perimeter or taking shots downfield, ultimately we want them defending 11 (players), not 10.”
Going into the fourth quarter, the visitors put together another drive to even the score up once again. A 15-yard touchdown run by the Aggie offense made it 28-28, and then their defense came up with a big fourth down stop near midfield to give them the ball back. Fairview, in crunch time and with good field position, took the lead, running the ball in from three yards to take a 35-28 advantage with just over two minutes remaining.
Throughout the game, with its many highs and lows, Goodwin said he felt his team did a good job of responding to the situations they were in and staying focused.
“We try to keep them in it and stay as calm as you can. You try not to be a roller coaster and you don’t push the panic button,” he said. “Hopefully (the players) respond to it and rebound from it well. For the most part I thought we were able to do that tonight.
“It’s an emotional game but you want to control your emotions as much as possible and attack as best you can,” Goodwin added.
With the game on the line, the Golden Tigers were able to keep their composure. The hosts executed an excellent two-minute drill to drive the ball down the field and score the game-tying touchdown with 18 seconds left in regulation. Goodwin connected with his favorite receiver, Gunner Sappington, who finished with double-digit receptions on the night; the senior broke multiple tackles to fight his way into the endzone and keep his team in the contest.
“I thought (Sappington) played really well—a really gutsy performance from him tonight,” Goodwin said. “He came in clutch at times when we needed him, and I’m proud and happy to see that, for sure.”
Sappington’s touchdown sent the contest into overtime, Russellville’s first overtime game since 2019.
Winning the coin toss, Russellville went on defense to start the first overtime period. Fairview ended up scoring from a yard out to take the lead, but the Golden Tigers only needed one play to equalize. Phinzee ran in his third touchdown of the night from 10-yards out to send the game into the second overtime period.
The second OT is when things really got wild. Starting on offense in the second overtime, the Golden Tigers were eventually stuffed on fourth and goal at the one-yard line after a read option by Goodwin didn’t pan out. Just needing any kind of points to win the game after that, Fairview was unable to reach the endzone, so instead sent out its kicking unit for a chip shot field goal. With the game on the line, Russellville’s special teams unit heroically blocked the attempt to send it into a third overtime.
The block, Goodwin said, had his team fired up for the ensuing offensive drive.
“That’s a huge momentum shift and hopefully it would springboard us into the next possession,” he said.
That it did. Phinizee, who finished with over 230 yards rushing, scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the night soon after—this one from five yards out—giving the Golden Tigers a 49-42 advantage to start the third overtime. However, heartbreak was unfortunately to follow. The Russellville defense was unable to stop the Fairview offense and the Aggies scored to make it 49-48; but instead of taking the safe option, the extra point, the Aggies decided to go for the win. The visitors converted from a few yards out to secure the victory 50-49, a heartbreaker for the Golden Tigers.
It was the first overtime loss for Russellville since 2007 and the three OT periods were the most the Golden Tigers have played since 1980. The loss halted Russellville's region winning streak at 27 games.
After the disappointing result against a top five team, Goodwin said he was proud of his squad’s performance and told them they still have a lot to fight for after the defeat. The loss, more than likely, barring major upsets in region play from here on out, means Fairview will be the region champion, but the Golden Tigers are still in the driver’s seat for good playoff positioning.
“You just tell them to keep fighting,” he said. “They have a choice to make. They can learn from our mistakes and hammer down for the second half of the season. We’ve got a good shot at having a decent draw in the playoffs still and getting in. Their destiny is in their hands.
“We’ve still got a really good shot to be in the playoffs and to be a one- or two-seed,” he added. “You never know what’s going to happen; that’s why we play the games—they’re not played on paper.
“We’ve gotta get back together, study this film and figure out what our mistakes were and try to address them next week and get ready for the next one.”
Russellville hosts Class 4A Hatton at Golden Tiger Stadium in its next game on October 11th. The Golden Tigers’ next region game will be on the road at West Point on October 18th.