Russellville rebounds from loss by routing St. Paul's
By Staff
Dan Murtaugh
For the FCT
MOBILE – Sixth-ranked Russellville used a balanced offense and stifling defense to throttle St. Paul's 41-7 in Mobile on Friday.
Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said his team left Thursday on the five-and-a-half hour drive and spent the night in Montgomery before arriving in Mobile earlier today.
His team showed no signs of travel fatigue. Junior quarterback Joey Howe threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns, and tailback Brent Calloway ran for 67 yards and two scores.
Meanwhile, the defense held St. Paul's to about three yards per carry and hassled start quarterback A.J. McCarron to three completions for 55 yards and a touchdown.
"That quarterback is good. They could score on any down with him out there," Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said. "We knew we couldn't let him set his feet."
Russellville dominated from the get-go, as Calloway scored on a 21-yard run in the first quarter.
Howe completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to wideout Nathan McAlister in the second quarter.
After McCarron fumbled the snap on the next drive, Golden Tigers' fullback Scotty Freeman scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
McCarron gave the Saints their only highlight of the day on the next drive. After taking the snap from the Russellville 49-yard line, he was chased outside to his left. He doubled back, barely escaping a tackle, then launched the ball about 25 yards down the sideline to wideout Carson Hale, who broke a tackle and ran in for the score.
Howe completed another touchdown pass to Mason Willis before halftime. In the second half, Howe hooked up with McAlister for another score, and Calloway scored his second touchdown on a 10-yard run. Russellville missed the extra point to make the final score 41-7.
The Golden Tigers limited the Saints to only 98 yards of total offense – 31 passing yards and 67 rushing yards.
