Russellville clinches region runner-up spot after 44-13 win over West Point

The Russellville High School varsity football team, in its penultimate region game of the season, clinched second place in Class 5A Region 7, traveling to West Point and defeating the Warriors 44-13 to improve to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in region play.

Offensively, the Golden Tigers controlled the game for most of the night, while the Russellville defense played hard-nosed and determined to keep the hosts out of the endzone. Like last week’s matchup against Hatton, Russellville gave up an opening score to fall behind early but turned things around quickly and never really looked back, scoring 31 unanswered points.

“Usually people scheme you up, and that’s part of the opening script, so sometimes they call the right plays and they were able to get in the endzone,” Russellville head coach Dustin Goodwin said. “Fortunately, we answered offensively on our first drive of the game. All-in-all, you never take winning for granted, and I’m proud of the guys for the way they were able to execute and play physical when the opportunity presented itself.

“We’d love to score everytime we get it, but I’m definitely proud of some of the plays we were able to make tonight,” Goodwin added. “Happy to get the win.”

Russellville’s opening touchdown was scored by junior running back Cameron Phinizee on an 18-yard rush to tie it up 7-7 with 3:20 to go in the first quarter. Phinizee, who finished the game with 221 yards on the ground, would tack on two more rushing touchdowns—a one-yard score in the second quarter and a 25-yard scamper in the third—to bring his season touchdown total to 24.

Phinizee and sophomore running back Tarus Davis, who ran for over 100 yards and scored Russellville’s final two touchdowns of the contest, have become quite the backfield duo for the Golden Tigers the last few weeks. Davis has gotten more touches as the season has progressed and has come on as a solid reliever for the star, all-state ball-carrier Phinizee when he needs a breather.

“They’re both two really good (running) backs, and they compliment each other well,” Goodwin said. “It’s good when one of them’s tired and needs a spell. When Cam gets tired or has a long run and needs a spell, Tarus can come in and do a good job for us, and we’re not really missing anything in the running game.

“(Davis) has done a good job for us, and we’re really glad to have both of them,” he added.

Russellville’s second touchdown of the night came soon after the first, but this one was scored by the defense. 

West Point’s quarterback, on the Warriors second play from scrimmage after the kickoff, threw an interception to senior defensive back Zay Hubbard, who stepped in front of the receiver for the pick. Hubbard returned it 41 yards for his second touchdown in as many weeks after he returned a fumble for a touchdown last Friday night against Hatton.

Hubbard and fellow senior defensive back Jah Williams, who also had an interception Friday night, have menaced opposing offenses over the last couple weeks, both with their ball-hawking ability and their willingness to make their presence felt.

“(Hubbard and Williams) both played well again, and their physicality is a big part of that,” Goodwin said. “They both had some big hits tonight and got some turnovers. Zay got the touchdown return for us, and Jah’s done a really good job on the return team for us, as well.

“They’re great guys, on and off the field, and they’re both definitely doing some things to help the team win,” Goodwin added.

Hubbard’s pick-six, apart from giving Russellville the lead, set the tone for the Golden Tiger defense, which forced multiple turnovers on the night, played physically, and consistently halted an increasingly desperate-to-score West Point offense on numerous fourth-down conversion attempts throughout the game. One drive in particular, Goodwin said, epitomized the Russellville D’s bend-don’t-break attitude and swung momentum back Russellville’s way in a game-changing moment.

With the score 31-7 in the third quarter—Russellville kicker Manny Martinez hit a field goal to cap the scoring in the first half—West Point produced a touchdown to cut Russellville’s lead to 31-13. Freshman quarterback Whit Goodwin then threw an interception on the first play of the ensuing drive to give the Warriors the ball back in plus territory. A touchdown for West Point could’ve potentially made it just a 10-point game late in the third, but the Golden Tigers stopped the Warriors on 4th down and three from inside the 10-yard line to force a turnover-on-downs.

Taking over at their own five-yard line, the Golden Tigers then put together a three-play, 95-yard touchdown drive—highlighted by a 65-yard run by Phinizee and capped with a seven-yard touchdown dash by Davis—to halt a potential two-score swing in the hosts’ favor and take the wind out of West Point’s sails.

“Probably one of the biggest drives of the game was the fourth down stop late in the third quarter,” Goodwin said. “Giving them the short field and then getting the fourth down stop, getting the turnover-on-downs, and then turning around and getting a touchdown (a few) plays later, I thought that was huge.”

Davis’ first touchdown run to make it 37-13 essentially iced the game, so his second, with 54 seconds remaining, served as icing as the Golden Tigers walked off winners and runners-up in their region.

Capturing the two-seed in Region 7 means Russellville will host the first round of the AHSAA playoffs against the three-seed from Region 5 in three weeks’ time. It will be the fifth-straight year that Russellville has hosted in the first round. Goodwin said earning the opportunity to play at home to start the postseason is a big benefit.

“It’s always extremely important to have home-field advantage in round one,” he said. “I think that it’s really good for the fans and really good for our players to be at home. We’re fortunate that we were able to secure that tonight.”

Two weeks now remain in the regular season. The Golden Tigers will travel to Priceville in their last region game next week before hosting Class 6A power Athens in the regular season finale. Goodwin said Russellville’s focus will remain on getting better and maintaining momentum so his team is, hopefully, peaking as they head into the postseason.

“We’re just looking to continue to improve and get stronger as we move forward and put ourselves in a situation to where we’re clicking on all cylinders moving into the playoffs,” he said.