When the Russellville Panthers take the short trip across town to Cougar Field Friday night, they will take on a Logan County team which has put up impressive numbers in the season’s first two games.
Coach Todd Adler’s team is not only 2-0 but the wins have come against a Class 4A and a Class 5A team. Allen County-Scottsville is expected to be a serious regional championship contender, and Christian County is always in the hunt for a 5A title.
Also impressive is that the Cougars beat AC-S without their starting quarterback in the second half. That quarterback, Davin Yates, had thrown three touchdown passes in the first half before hurting his shoulder on a jarring sack of the Patriot quarterback late in the second quarter. The Cougar coaching staff (and the team’s fans) learned they had a talented fill-in under center for Yates in sophomore Brady Hinton, who engineered and scored a clinching touchdown after a shaky start in the second half. Hinton was named Player of the Game.
Senior running back Ryan Rayno has been doing his Derrick Henry imitation admirably well. He wore out the Patriot defense in the fourth quarter in the opener and bulled his way to a school-record six touchdowns against the Colonels. He was the Culver’s Player of the Week in Game 2, signifying the top performance in the Bowling Green area.
Rayno (332 yards on 36 carries for 9.2 yards per rush and those 6 touchdowns) is not the only effective runner. Sophomore JunVontre Dillard (118 yards on 11 totes for a 10.7 average) has been impressive.
Although the Cougars threw very little while overpowering Christian County, Zane Batten and Dillard have each caught eight passes, and Jack Delaney leads in yards and touchdowns.
Sophomore Kyla Bilyeu has been a weapon on extra points. She is officially 5 of 7 on placement kicks, and one of those listed as a miss came on a botched snap/hold.
Elijah Hawkins, who had a super season in leading the defense on a Final Four team in 2021, again tops the stats in solo tackles, assisted tackles and, obviously, total tackles.
Isaac Poe, Peyton Taylor, Hunter Holloway and Ryland Nichols all are near the top of defensive categories.
See stats on all the Cougars in the accompanying charts.
Last year’s win by the Panthers, who went on the Class 1A state championship game, broke a four-game win streak by the Cougars in the Clash. The Panthers will try to end their 0-2 start for the 2022 season by upsetting the Cougars tonight.
The 7 p.m. game will be aired live and also on replay at 1 p.m. Saturday on WRUS with Zack Woodall and Austin Pogue calling the action.sa