With Golden Tigers’ 21-7 win, head coach Higgins hands former team Mars Hill first loss since 2024

The Russellville High School varsity football team ended two streaks on Friday night.

The Golden Tigers defeated Mars Hill Bible School 21-7, snapping the Panthers’ 21-game winning streak that dated back to 2024 while also ending Russellville’s four-game losing streak in the series.

Additionally, Russellville’s victory marked a significant milestone for Russellville (and former Mars Hill) head coach Darrell Higgins, who entered the contest riding a 21-game winning streak, extended now to 22 games with the win. Higgins and the Golden Tigers, sitting at 2-0, now have two statement victories early in his tenure at Russellville.

“It’s very exciting and I’m very blessed to be the coach here and be around a lot of great coaches and players that love to play football,” Higgins said.

Starting the game on offense, Russellville wasted little time taking control in the battle against Mars Hill.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Russellville, the host, much like in its season opener against Deshler, started off hot. With 9:40 remaining in the first quarter, senior quarterback Tripp Cleveland, taking a quick three-step drop back, connected with junior receiver Darron Jones on a 48-yard touchdown pass, giving the Golden Tigers an early 7-0 advantage.

“We saw a good matchup with them (Mars Hill) playing press man. With Jones’ speed and the way Tripp can throw it, it was worth a shot,” Higgins said of the first touchdown.

“Tripp makes some great decisions, has tremendous arm talent and throws some beautiful passes,” he added. “Jones does a great job beating man-to-man coverage and getting open, so those two together are a great combination.”

Russellville then added to its lead early in the second quarter when Cleveland found senior running back Tarus Davis for an eight-yard touchdown, his first receiving touchdown and fourth total touchdown of the campaign.

The score put the Golden Tigers ahead 14-0, and Russellville carried that advantage into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Russellville’s defense forced a turnover on downs on Mars Hill’s first offensive possession and then forced a fumble in Panther territory on their second. Unfortunately for RHS, its offense was unable to move the ball enough to score and put the game on ice. The Golden Tigers followed up Mars Hill’s fumble with an interception and then started off the fourth quarter with a lost fumble.

“We’ve got a lot to work on,” Higgins said. “We had several opportunities to take a three-score lead and stretch it out a little bit, but we just haven’t been able to get it done. So far it’s been one mistake after another that’s been holding us back.”

Given their breaks, the visitors from Mars Hill continued to battle in the second half and would not go away. The Panthers finally broke through midway through the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.

But the Golden Tigers, thanks to a stingy defense, answered and were able to add another touchdown to make the score 21-7.

Following an RHS punt halfway through the fourth quarter, the Golden Tiger defense gave the ball right back to its offense via a fumble and ensuing recovery by safety Jasen Noel. The Panther fumble was their third forced turnover of the game.

“It was a great job by our defense. They were flying around all night and making plays,” Higgins said. “They never really looked at the scoreboard, they just kept playing ball.”

Following multiple missed opportunities throughout the game, Russellville’s offense finally came through with a much-needed score. Davis added another rushing touchdown, his fourth of the campaign, this one 41 yards long, to give the Golden Tigers a late two-score advantage with 2:52 left in regulation.

Russellville’s defense stepped up again on the Panthers’ next possession, wrapping the game up when sophomore Ridge Stockton stepped in front of a Mars Hill pass, picking it off and allowing the RHS offense to enter the victory formation.

The seven points Russellville allowed were the fewest Mars Hill had scored since the Panthers lost 49-7 to Cullman back in 2021.

After the win Higgins said he was proud of his team’s mental toughness.

“They played hard and never let up. They kept playing hard all night, and I’m really proud of their effort, their attitudes and their energy,” he said.

The victory gives Russellville a second early-season triumph over one of the state’s most successful programs while also putting an end to two steaks. For Higgins, he continues a remarkable run of success as a head coach, Russellville becoming the latest team to benefit from that winning formula.

The Golden Tigers now turn their attention to their first road game and first region game of the season at Hartselle, a team receiving votes in the latest ASWA Class 5A football poll.

Hartselle lost 14-9 to Cullman on Friday night, dropping to 1-1, but is still considered one of the favorites in Class 5A Region 7. Higgins said the Golden Tigers will have to improve in a number of areas if they are to topple the Hartselle Tigers next week.

“We’ll have to play a whole lot better if we’re going to beat Hartselle on the road,” he said. “We’ve still got a long way to go if we’re going to compete with them and a lot of these teams in our region.”