Goodwin gets win in debut as Russellville head coach as Golden Tigers down Deshler 35-21

The Dustin Goodwin era at Russellville got off to a flying start as the Golden Tigers came from behind and scored 28 unanswered points to dispatch the Deshler Tigers 35-21 at Golden Tiger Stadium on Friday night.

Things, for a while, looked dicey for a heavily penalized Golden Tiger squad that was down 21-7 to Deshler late in the second quarter. However, Russellville (1-0), led by junior running back Cameron Phinizee, gained momentum before the break and then put together a brilliant second half to hold off—then brush off—Deshler (0-1) in the fourth quarter.

“We knew a lot of the stuff that was going wrong in the first half, whether it be the holding penalties or the late hits…it was stuff that could be corrected,” Goodwin said.

“I think at halftime it was 110 penalty yards against us and 20 yards against Deshler, and we knew they were holding the ball too long,” he added. “We wanted to make sure we got the defense off the field and make sure we maintained possession and finished drives and didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot. I thought our coaches and our kids did a great job of making those changes and corrections (at halftime) and obviously we played much better in the second half. It wasn’t perfect, but definitely better.”

It didn’t take long for the Golden Tigers, and Phinizee especially, to make their presence known in the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, Phinizee showed why he’s one of the most feared backs in the state, taking the handoff from freshman quarterback Whit Goodwin right up the middle for a 75-yard touchdown.

The lightning-quick punch didn’t shock Deshler, though, and the visitors responded on the following drive, tying it up 7-7 after a six-yard touchdown rush by Q Harden with 7:40 to go in the first. The Tigers then took the lead about 12 minutes later, with 7:11 to go in the half, when sophomore Ayden Noyola snuck past the goal line from the one to make it 14-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, a long return put the Golden Tigers in an excellent position to respond in turn, but a fumble a few plays later gave the ball right back to Deshler. The Tigers took advantage, driving down and sticking it in the endzone again—a five-yard rush by Kendrick Gunn—to put them up 21-7 with 4:39 to go in the half.

Down by two scores before the intermission it felt like the Golden Tigers needed to make a play to regain momentum. They got it immediately after the kickoff in the form of a 70-yard touchdown strike down the left hash from sophomore quarterback Tripp Cleveland to senior receiver Gunner Sappington.

“We had a shot to make some big plays and some of those hit, just like we thought they could,” Goodwin said.

The offense’s big play cut the deficit to seven points and it was followed by a big play on the defensive side of the ball—an interception by sophomore linebacker Keifer Hallmark—that, even though the hosts were still down by a score, gave them an even bigger boost going into the break.

“I thought we moved the ball well (in the first half) other than the fumble. The biggest thing was we just needed to get rid of the negatives like the holding penalties,” Goodwin said.

In the second half the team that saw over a 100-yards worth of yellow on the ground in the opening 24 minutes saw next to none in the final 24. The running back that got just one sniff at the endzone in the first half knocked down the door in the second.

Just like the first half, the second half scoring was opened by a long Phinizee touchdown run. Midway through the third quarter Phinizee took the handoff from his own 13-yard line and scampered over and around Deshler defenders for an 87-yard score to tie the game up 21-21.

The next Phinizee rushing touchdown was bookended by turnovers forced by the Golden Tiger defense. A Deshler fumble on its next drive gave the Russellville offense excellent field position at the opponent’s 20-yard line. A couple plays later Phinizee scored his third rushing touchdown of the evening, taking it in from 17 yards out to put Russellville up 28-21. It was the Golden Tigers their first lead since the first quarter.

The defense came up big again after the Golden Tigers retook the lead. Deshler, like Russellville late in the second quarter, desperately needed a score now late in the second half, but the Golden Tiger D came up big again. On third and goal from around the five-yard line, Deshler’s ball carrier was tackled for a loss, and on fourth and goal Deshler quarterback Price Thornton threw his second interception of the game, squashing what would be Deshler’s last best hope of getting back into the game.

“The stops in the second half and the turnovers were huge,” Goodwin said. “Being able to get them off the field and them getting stops and giving us the ball back was key for us to be able to take the lead and keep it in the second half.

“I’m really proud of those guys on that side of the ball and those coaches,” he added.

After the turnover the Golden Tigers put the game on ice with a steady prescription of Phinizee. The junior, who finished the game with a remarkable 341 yards rushing on 20 carries, closed the contest out with a one-yard rushing score to make it 35-21 with less than 30 seconds to play.

“We were able to establish the run game. (Deshler) put a lot of people in the box, but, you know, Cam’s a special player,” Goodwin said. “The sky’s the limit for him, but he knows those guys up front were a tremendous asset for him, and I’m really proud of that unit.

“Three of the five offensive linemen are new, two of those tight ends are new that played tonight; the full back is new. We’ve got inexperience everywhere, but to see those guys come together as a unit and pave the way for him was great,” Goodwin added. “The special player that Cam is, he was able to make some moves, break some tackles and make good runs into great runs. That’s something he has a natural ability to do, and we’re happy he’s on our side.”

Russellville’s win over Deshler Friday night gives the Golden Tigers back-to-back double-digit victories over the visitors from Tuscumbia for the first time since 2015-16. It’s also the second year in-a-row the Golden Tigers have had to mount a double-digit comeback to beat Deshler—13 points last year and 14 points this year.

For head coach Dustin Goodwin it’s a win that “checks all the boxes.”

“It’s always great to get the first win, and fortunately for us it was against a quality opponent that’s gonna have a great season; they’re a good football team,” Goodwin said. “I’m really proud of all our coaches and our team for finding a way to pull it out.

“I feel like this was one of those cases where it was a total team effort, and we did a good job of pushing ourselves at halftime and getting the job done,” he added.

Russellville travels to Mars Hill for their next game on Friday, August 30th.