Russellville advances to afternoon tournament, finishes 3-2

By Staff
Kim West
Franklin County Times
FLORENCE – The Russellville High School football team was among the final 12 teams in the University of North Alabama's 7-on-7 passing camp tournament held at the Flowers Hall practice fields last Saturday.
After a morning round-robin tournament, the top 12 teams advanced to a double-elimination tournament in the afternoon. In addition to Alabama schools, the camp attracted teams from Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.
In the morning round, the Golden Tigers went 2-1. Russellville lost its first game against Hardin County (Tenn.), but rebounded to beat Lee-Huntsville and Oak Mountain to advance the afternoon tournament.
The Golden Tigers lost to Hartselle in the first afternoon game, and Flowery Branch eliminated Russellville 18-14.
"We get to work on our passing at this type of camp, but we actually work more on our passing defense than the offense," Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said. "We did pretty good overall, and all three losses were within six points."
Russellville played without several starters from last season, including quarterback Cory Trapp and running back Mike Abernathy. Goodwin said several players were out of town due to previous camp commitments.
The Golden Tigers will play in a 7-on-7 camp in Hamilton, and fall practice is scheduled to start in early August. Russellville is scheduled to play a fall jamboree game on Friday, Aug. 24, and the season begins Aug. 31 at Deshler.
Russellville finished last season 11-1, and went undefeated during the regular season to win the region championship.