High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
 By  Staff Reports Published 
11:02 am Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Golden Tigers down Lee Generals 38-35

RVILLE-7-PHOTO

By Brannon King for the FCT

There have been many football games played at Russellville High School, but it’s probably safe to say there hasn’t been one quite like the one seen Friday night against the Lee Generals.

The Golden Tigers (2-0, 1-0) pulled out a thrilling, 38-35 home win when Payton Nichols found Colin Garrison in the end zone on fourth down for a 26-yard touchdown pass with only eight seconds remaining in the game.

The game-winning throw and catch was the second fourth-down conversion of the final drive for RHS.  Earlier, Nichols somehow scrambled and bought enough time to locate Logan Jones on a fourth-and-15 from deep inside Russellville’s own territory. Marvin Betancourt also had a couple of clutch catches in the game’s final minute to put the Golden Tigers in the position to claim the victory. Betancourt’s 22-yard field goal halfway through the third quarter accounted for the three points that later proved to be the difference.

After the final Russellville touchdown, there was just enough time on the clock for Lee (1-1, 0-1) to try for a last second answer. A dead ball penalty after the RHS TD allowed the Golden Tigers to kick off from the Lee 45-yard-line. Russellville chose to kick it short, but it was too short. The ball didn’t travel the necessary ten yards before RHS could touch it, and Lee was able to take the ball without the clock running out, which allowed for one more play for the Generals. After a few laterals, Russellville’s Devin Buckhalter stepped in front of a Lee toss and secured the ball near mid-field to seal the win for RHS.

The wild and crazy game left the Lee players disappointed and Russellville excited and celebrating.  Meanwhile, Russellville’s Coach Mark Heaton looked as though he had just finished a marathon.

“I told our guys at halftime that championship football teams find a way to win football games; they never stop, and they always believe that they’ve got a chance,” Heaton said.

“On fourth down, we got in a ‘Hail Mary’ situation and thankfully got flushed out of the pocket because it wasn’t there. We had a little lateral called and just did a great job fighting to keep the play alive, and Logan Jones made a great catch. We fought all the way down field, and we tried a double move on a comeback route on the sideline. The guy bit on it, and when Colin turned up, he was by himself, and Bernard Phinizee did a great job occupying the safety, which left us with nobody over the top. Brett Voss actually came to me with that, so he made a great decision to do it.”

The contest started just as one might think a wild game would. The Generals kicked it deep, and Russellville fumbled the return to set Lee up for their first touchdown. After five straight runs, Diamonte Douglas found Dashun Grays for a TD pass. On Russellville’s first drive, Nichols found Betancourt on fourth and 13 to keep things going. Two plays later, Logan Jones found the end zone on a 6-yard TD run.  Betancourt’s extra point tied the score.

It only took LHS four plays to answer with a 60-yard TD pass. The extra point gave the Generals the 14-7 advantage. Then the two teams traded fumbles. Russellville’s Bruce Ambrosio recovered the Lee fumble to give RHS the ball back. Then Russellville evened the score on a ten-yard TD run by Zaye Boyd.

Lee answered on their next possession when Tashaad Jones scored from 1-yard out with 6:20 left in the half. An interception ended the next RHS drive, but the defense made a stop and forced Lee to punt.

On a sign of things to come, RHS put together a long TD drive to score just as time expired to end the half. This time, Nichols threw to Betancourt for a two-yard touchdown to send the teams to the break tied.

The short second half kickoff caught Lee off guard, and Russellville’s Landon Ezzell recovered it.  Betancourt’s field goal put a cap on an 11-play drive and RHS led, 24-21.

The Generals grabbed the lead right back on their next possession. Douglas scored on a one-yard TD run to put his team up 28-24. Early in the fourth quarter, Boyd scored his second TD of the game, this one coming on a two-yard carry to put RHS up 31-28. The Generals then went on a long march of their own.  After 15 plays and multiple penalties, including one on a fourth down pass to keep the drive alive, Lee scored from one yard out and took the lead with 2:48 remaining.

Russellville showed heart, didn’t give up and found a way to answer for the game-winning drive to claim the win in their first region game of the season.

“We’re going to enjoy this and come back to work Sunday and get ready to beat Lawrence County,” Heaton said. “It’s been a tough last two years with them. We’ve won two close games with them, and we’ve got to get better and find a way to minimize our mistakes from this week.”

The Golden Tigers will travel to Moulton to take on the Lawrence County Red Devils next with hopes of keeping their momentum going.

Also on Franklin County Times
Thorpe to play at Blue Mountain Christian
High School Sports, News, Russellville, ...
Brannon King For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE – Brennon Thorpe made his plans official to attend Blue Mountain Christian University and play baseball for the Toppers during a recent s...
Russellville High Class of 1967 gathers, reminisces
Columnists, News, Opinion, ...
HERE AND NOW
July 16, 2025
You can’t really go back to the good old days of high school, but you can pay them a visit now and then. That’s exactly what the RHS Class of 1967 has...
Former Cypress Lakes official to lead Guntersville State Park
Lifestyles, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
GUNTERSVILLE — Heath Puckett had an Auburn University degree and golf course superintendent certification in his pocket when he arrived at Cypress Lak...
European travel builds bonds across cultures
Lifestyles, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- A group of Franklin County travelers spent nine days this summer walking through catacombs, exploring castles and standing in places w...
Little Free Library welcomes readers in East Franklin
Lifestyles, News, Phil Campbell
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Eleven-year-old Aiden Hall is an avid reader, but he doesn’t just want to read books. He also wants to share them, and the way he deci...
King becomes elementary curriculum director
Lifestyles, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELVILLE — Molly King says every child can learn, though not necessarily in the same way or on the same day — a belief she plans to carry into her ...
New Junior Leaders begin their training
Franklin County, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Forty-two high school students from across Franklin County are beginning 10 months of hands-on leadership training and community ser...
Fire destroys 2-story garage, guest suite
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
R U S S E L LV I L L E – Jason Gist leaned against the wall of his home with a look of disgust while dozens of firefighters worked to extinguish a fir...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Stories
July 4, 2025Augusto Simon Diaz, 42, of Russellville, passed away July 4. Visitation and funeral were held at Spry Memorial Chapel on July 12 from 2pm ...
July 16, 2025
July 8, 2025Jamie Kerby Cummings, 41, of Russellville, passed away on July 8. Visitation took place July 13, at Spry Memorial Chapel from 1 pm to 3pm....
July 16, 2025
July 11,2025Julie “JuJu” Welch Black, 63, of Russellville, passed away on July 11.Graveside service was held at 1pm on July 13, at Belgreen Cemetery w...
July 16, 2025
July 9, 2025Scott Noel Benford, age 58, of Muscle Shoals, passed away on July 9. Visitation was held at Pinkard Funeral Home in Russellville on July 1...
July 16, 2025