Golden Tigers dominate in homecoming win over Brewer
The Russellville Golden Tigers got back on the winning track with a 58-0 homecoming football victory over the Brewer Patriots.
The Golden Tigers led 45-0 at the half Friday night and were able to continue their strong play against region opponents. RHS is now 4-3 on the season and 4-0 in region play going into the off week on the game schedule.
RHS used a Brewer special teams miscue to get good field position for the first score of the contest. Conner Warhurst took a handoff and went 17 yards to give his team a 7-0 lead with the help of a Manny Martinez extra point kick.
The following kickoff was misplayed by the Patriots, and Taylor Crumpton was there to recover the loose ball for Russellville.
Two plays later, the Golden Tigers were back in the end zone when Harrison Burch pitched forward to TJ King for a five-yard TD play. The score was 14-0 with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter.
After the RHS defense forced a Brewer punt on the following possession, Burch found Randall Johnson for a 79-yard touchdown pass on the next play.
The Golden Tigers grew the lead to 28-0 when Warhurst looked to be headed into the end zone again; he fumbled, but offensive lineman Weston Jackson recovered the ball for a TD.
Cam Phinizee put RHS up 35-0 in the first quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run, and that was followed by another Crumpton kickoff recovery. Manny Martinez made the lead 38-0 with a 25-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
With just under a minute to go in the half, the Golden Tigers made the score 45-0 on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Burch to King that was followed by another successful PAT kick by Martinez.
After Brewer attempted – but failed – an onside kick to start the second half but, RHS made the Patriots pay with a 43-yard pass from Burch to King on the next play. Louis Aguirre came on to kick the point-after, and Russellville led 52-0.
The fourth quarter featured a 12-yard touchdown run by Zaye Eggleston and an interception by Russellville’s Reece Carson to help preserve the shutout.
“I’m proud of the way we responded after a big emotional loss to a really good team last week,” said Russellville head coach John Ritter. RHS now has a week to prepare for the stretch run of the regular season, which includes important region road games coming up against Ardmore and Fairview. “We’ve got one more region game before Fairview, and we’ve got to make sure we’re focused on Ardmore with everything that we’ve got.
“We’re right where we want to be,” Ritter added. “We’re controlling our own destiny heading into October.”
