By Staff
Scot Beard
HUNTSVILLE – The Russellville football team proved they were worthy of its new No. 2 ranking Thursday by dominating Butler on the road.
The Golden Tigers (3-0, 3-0) earned a 49-0 shut out by holding Butler to only 74 yards of total offense.
"We used this game to get better," said Russellville coach Doug Goodwin. "It was another step in the right direction."
Both the offense and the defense should have gotten a confidence boost from the performance.
After gaining 666 yards during the first two games, the Golden Tiger offense rolled up 440 yards against Butler (0-3, 0-2). Both the running game and the passing game were going well Thursday.
Quarterback Joey Howe completed 7-of-8 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown while Jake Ward was 4-of-4 for 43 yards and a touchdown. Russellville did not attempt a pass during the second half.
Brent Calloway led the rushing attack with 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His longest run was a 49-yard scoring run to put Russellville ahead 28-0 with 8:08 remaining in the second half.
Scotty Freeman opened the scoring with a 1-yard run early in the first quarter. Six minutes later Calloway scored on a 7-yard run.
Ryan Romans increased the lead to 21-0 on a 13-yard reception from Ward. Mason Willis rounded out the first half scoring with a 45-yard reception from Howe to give the Golden Eagles a 35-0 halftime lead.
Willis was the game's leading receiver with seven catches for 119 yards. Romans gained 55 yards on four receptions.
Mario Roman scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter and Jesse Green scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth.
Casey Bolton was 4-of-5 on PATs while Jose Betancourt was 1-of-1. Ward connected with Willis on the only two-point conversion Russellville attempted.
The Golden Tiger defense kept Butler out of rhythm all night, holding the Rebels to only 32 offensive plays. Eight of those plays either failed to gain or resulted in a loss of yardage.
The longest play allowed by Russellville was a 17-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Russellville will host No. 9 Hartselle Friday.