Russellville clinches postseason berth following 42-14 win over West Point on Homecoming

It was a great night to be back at the friendly confines of Golden Tiger Stadium for the Russellville High School varsity football team on Friday.

After a three-game road stretch, the Golden Tigers clinched a postseason berth on Homecoming night, beating region foe West Point 42-14 to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in Class 5A Region 7.

“It’s definitely good to get into the playoffs. That’s a big goal each and every year,” Russellville head coach Dustin Goodwin said. “If you’re not in it then you don’t get the chance to extend your season, so making the playoffs is always a big plus. We’re very pleased with our kids.”

Homecoming week comes with many distractions, but Goodwin felt his players did a good job of handling them and maintaining focus on their opponent throughout the week.

“It’s been a great week,” Goodwin said. “There were a ton of potential distractions. Our middle school football team won the conference championship; our volleyball team won the area championship and we went and cheered them on, and that was great to see something that hasn’t happened in a really long time here. Then there was the bonfire and the pep rally and the parade and getting out of school—still being able to come out here and execute and play as well as we did, I think it’s a testament to the character of our team and the focus they have.

“We’ve had great crowds at everything that’s gone on this week,” he added. “It’s been a great week for Russellville athletics, for Russellville High School, and I think this week shows why it’s great to be a Golden Tiger.”

The Golden Tigers drew first blood in the region contest against West Point. Russellville opened things up with a 59-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Whit Goodwin to senior wide receiver Connor Devaney, giving RHS a 7-0 lead after the extra point by senior kicker David Tomas.

The visitors tied it up late in the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown, but another touchdown pass by Goodwin—this one to senior Bryson Cooper—gave the Golden Tigers the lead again, 14-7, with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

Russellville was able to extend its lead to two touchdowns before halftime after an interception by freshman Drake Ergle gave the Golden Tigers the ball back. A 70-yard completion to receiver Julyun Francisco set up a short touchdown run by junior running back Tarus Davis to make it 21-7 at the break.

After the intermission, West Point struck on a 64-yard touchdown run, making it 21-14 with less than a minute gone in the third quarter. However, the Golden Tigers shook off the early second half sucker punch and controlled the game moving forward.

An 11-yard touchdown pass from Goodwin to junior Daniel Aycock doubled the lead for RHS, 28-14, in the third quarter.

Later in the third, Goodwin scored a TD with his legs from five yards out to make it 35-14.

Goodwin, who ended the night with over 325 yards passing, capped the scoring with a 50-yard touchdown toss to Davis to give RHS a 42-14 lead with 2:27 remaining in the third.

On defense in the second half, sophomore Jason Noel and senior Malaki Groce each had interceptions to help keep the Warriors out of the endzone for the rest of the game.

“I don’t think we were perfect in the first half—or the second. But I think our guys were prepared and they played the way they were supposed to,” Goodwin told the Franklin Free Press. “We had some big plays, and that’s always good to see offensively. We gave up 14 points on defense, and I know our defensive staff is not gonna be happy about those 14 points. 

“But all in all, I’m very pleased with our kids and their ability to do what needed to be done to win the football game,” he added.

In addition to securing a playoff berth, the win over West Point Friday night set the Golden Tigers up for a showdown with the Priceville Bulldogs for second place in Region 7. The winner of that contest on October 24 will earn the right to host a first round playoff game.

Goodwin said Russellville hasn’t looked too much at Priceville to this point; the Golden Tigers, he said, are focused on the team in front of them each week. In the coming days, though, Russellville will turn its eye to Priceville in what should be a very competitive contest.

“We really talk to our kids every week about being 1-0 and attacking the task at hand. The Priceville game next week wouldn’t have the same significance if we didn’t win this week, so we’ve really been focused on West Point,” Goodwin said. “In the back of our minds we knew we’d have the Priceville game to finish region play, but we didn’t know the implications of it until after tonight. Now we know what they are. We get it at home, so I expect nothing less than our coaches and kids to be itching to prepare for that.

“We just have to do our part to prepare and then execute next Friday night,” he added.