Russellville keeps win streak going

ATHENS — During the second quarter it looked as though Athens would end its long losing streak to Russellville. Scoring to take a 14-3 lead with 3:08 remaining before halftime, Athens seemed in control of the game.

But there was a second half to be played and Russellville did all of the scoring to secure a 17-14 victory and extend its winning streak against one of its biggest rivals to 13 games. The last time the Golden Tigers lost to Athens was the 2000 season.

“It was a great victory for us,” said Russellville head coach Michael Jackson. “The kids fought hard. It was a classic football game and we were fortunate to get out of there with a win.”

Jose Betancourt opened the scoring for Russellville (2-1, 2-0) with a 42-yard field goal at the 10:07 mark of the second quarter.

Athens (1-2, 1-1) took the lead with a pair of touchdowns, but left too much time on the clock at the end of the second quarter and Russellville took advantage. Devan Parker found Wesley Bohannon for a 61-yard completion to start the six-play drive and Tyler Boyd ended it with a 5-yard touchdown run. Betancourt added the point after to cut the Athens lead to 14-10 at halftime.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Boyd added his second touchdown of the night with 11:44 to play while Betancourt added the point after. With that point after, Betancourt became the highest scoring kicker in Golden Tiger history.

Athens had two possessions in the last two minutes of the game, but both times the Russellville defense forced a turnover on downs and the Golden Tigers were able to run out the clock.

Russellville will travel to East Limestone next week.