The Russellville boys and girls varsity soccer teams are area champions, and both are hosting round one of the upcoming Class 4A-5A playoffs.

Russellville’s boys are again one of the favorites to make a strong push for the state championship round a year after finishing second in the state. This season’s team has experience and a 13-2-1 record.

The Golden Tigers were undefeated in Class 4A-5A Area 14 at 8-0 and outscored area opponents by a jaw-dropping 81-0 goal total. RHS has scored 102 goals this season during all games and have allowed eight.

The girls’ team, led by RHS assistant head coach Fred Ambrosio, assistant Larsen Plyler and head coach Trey Stanford, are also area champions for the second year in a row. The Lady Golden Tigers are 12-5 on the season and finished area play with a perfect 8-0 record.

The RHS girls outscored area opponents West Morgan, Lawrence County, Hamilton and Haleyville in games both home and away by a combined goal total of 64-7.

“This group is special, number one, because we’ve had two extremely great years in boys and girls,” Stanford said. “This group is right there with last year’s group to help every step of the way. We’re really enjoying the success of the past two years, winning the area championship.”

Winning the area is not something to take for granted, even though the RHS teams have both won it back-to-back seasons – and the boys’ have won five of the past six area titles.

“I couldn’t do it without Coach Fred and Coach Larsen,” Stanford shared. “We’ve just got a good thing going. We’ve got a lot of people interested – a lot of kids interested and a lot of the community interested. It’s just a wonderful place to work, coach and teach.”