Using a ball-control rushing attack and timely passing, the Russellville Panthers won their fifth straight Clash of the Cats on Halloween night at Rhea
Stadium by a 28-13 count.
Coach John Myers' team carried the ball on 47 of its 53 offensive snaps. The Panthers had four backs to gain 30 or more yards on the way to 211 rushing
yards. Quarterback D.J. Quarles passed only six times, completing half of his aerials. Two of them, however, accounted for 81 yards. All four Panther
touchdowns came on running plays.
The Panthers finished with 301 yards total offense.
The Cougars ran the ball just 23 times. They passed almost half of the time, putting the ball in the air on 20 plays. The rushing plays produced 95
yards while junior quarterback John Logan
Dockins hit 8 of his 19 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. The twentieth pass involved trickery, with halfback/wide receiver
Thomas Washington trying to connect with Dockins, but the play took too long to materialize and Washington threw high over the spot where Dockins was
standing.
The emphasis on the ground game also allowed the Panthers to control the clock late in the game. Although Logan was on offense 30 seconds longer than
the home team in a balanced first half, Russellville was in charge in the second half, holding possession 16 minutes and 17 seconds as compared to the
Cougars' 7:43. Russellville ran 30 offensive plays in the second half and Logan half that many at 15.
One reason for that disparity was a quick score by the Cougars that gave the visitors a glimmer of hope in the fourth quarter. After a four-plus minute
RHS drive finished on a quarterback sneak by Quarles, and Browning Smith's fourth successful conversion kick made it 28-7 with 4:22 remaining in the
game, Logan struck quickly, needing just 21 seconds to cut the lead by six.
After Corey Jones' 19-yard kickoff return, Dockins found Reuben Rawlings-Watson along the sideline. Rawlings-Watson broke a tackle and sped for a
51-yard touchdown. Corey Jones attempted a pass on the conversion, but it was intercepted.
Logan tried an onside kick by Justin Rone, but Quarles downed it at his 49. Then he guided his team to four minutes of ball control, never giving the
ball back to the Cougars.
The first quarter gave no indication that this would be one of the more competitive Cat Clashes in the series. Russellville led 14-0 with 1:04
remaining in the quarter. In fact, the first action of the game made it seem the Panthers would dominate.
Myers was determined not to let Washington-- one of the state's top tracksters-- touch the ball on kickoffs. Smith kicked the ball hard and low toward
the south sideline. It bounced off Cougar lineman Jeremy Rager's chest and was recovered by the Panthers' ever-present Damien Elam at the Cougar 47.
The Panthers picked up three first downs and a touchdown on a 10-rush, 47-yard, 5:35 drive that concluded with Devonta Bryant scoring on a three-yard
sweep to the left. Smith's kicks were deadly accurate all night.
Logan moved the ball on its first possession. Senior Nathan Oberhausen ran for a 16-yard first down, and classmate Jonathan Barbee broke a tackle to
give his team four more downs on a fourth and two at the Panther 46. Three incomplete passes in the next four drives ended that possession, however,
and gave the Panthers their second great starting field position at their 40.
Russellville needed only four plays to cover the 60 yards. Bryant ran for nine yards, and then Quarles hit his own version of a quick Washington--
sophomore Seth-- with a 44-yard bomb to the LCHS seven. Bryant scored from five yards out on a sweep identical to his first scoring sprint. Smith made
it 14-0 with 1:04 in the first.
Logan then mounted its only extended scoring drive of the game to stop the Panther onslaught. After Oberhausen returned the kickoff 23 yards to
midfield, Thomas Washington tried a sweep. As was the case often during the game, Bryant caught him from behind and threw him for a four-yard loss. An
official ruled, however, that the tackle involved an illegal "horse collar," and Logan had a first down at the RHS 36 instead of a second-and-14 at its
own 45.
That appeared to have been wasted when Barbee ran for no gain before Josh Cates, Layton Bush and Alex Hardin sacked Dockins for a five-yard loss. Cates
and Dudley Bouldin dropped Dockins down for no gain on third down. The Cougars went into punt formation with three backs in front of the punter. The
snap, however, went to Dockins, who hit Rawlings-Watkins up the middle for a beautiful 41-yard touchdown pass. Diego Garcia's conversion kick cut the
Panthers' lead to 14-7 with 10 minutes left in the half.
Phillip Stratton's kickoff was fielded by Victor Hampton just in front of the goal line, and Hampton's 45-yard sprint gave the Panthers their third
straight super field position at the 46. The Cougar defense suddenly appeared and forced the Panthers into the game's first punt. Logan Anderson's
pulling the scrambling Quarles down played a big role in that change of possession.
The Cougars appeared to be on the verge of driving for the tying tochdown. Barbee ran 10 yards for a first down. Dockins hit Rawlings-Watson on a
5-yard pass for another. A personal foul on the Panthers produced a third first down. Dockins hit Rawlings-Watson on a 35-yard pass to the one, but
that was nullfied because Dockins had crossed the line of scrimmage before he released the pass.
On two impressive plays beginning with a third and 19 at the 45, Dockins hit consecutive passes to Rawlings-Watson and Twin Lancaster for a few more
inches than the team needed for another first down. The drive stalled there, though, on three consecutive incomplete paases.
Russellville got an 18-yard run from Quarles when he was almost sacked by Oberhausen, but the drive ended when the Panthers failed on a fake punt of
their own.
Logan took over on the RHS 42 with 12.1 seconds remaining in the half. They had already used up their timeouts. On second down, Dockins and Lancaster
teamed for a 36-yard pass, but time expired with the Cougars on the Logan six.
The Panthers moved the ball to start the second half, highlighted by a 37-yard catch and run on a Quarles-to-Elam combination. That drive ended on a
fourth-and-six play at the Cougar 27 when Todd Haley broke up Quarles' pass.
Any hopes of scoring on their next possession ended for the Cougars when Thomas Washington was thrown for a seven-yard loss and the ball scooted loose.
The official ruled he was down before the fumble, but the players apparently didn't hear his whistle. Players from both teams kept jumping on the ball,
and a Cougar was whistled for a personal foul along the way. A play that had begun on the 45 cost Logan 22 yards and a down.
Russellville then gave itself breathing room with a 9-play, 65-yard drive that ended on Bryant's third touchdown sweep to the left. Smith's kick made
it 21-7 with 1:25 in the third.
The Cougars mounted one more drive. Barbee had runs of 15 and 11 yards, and Oberhausen ran 13 yards for a third first down. Facing a fourth-and-six
situation at the RHS seven, Dockins tried to hit Rawlings-Watson for a touchdown. But Bryant, who may have put together the best game of anyone on
either team with offense and defense combined, intercepted the pass and returned it 27 yards.
That was the starting place for the Panthers' fourth scoring drive. A 34-yard sprint by Elam and three runs by Kevin Temple for 20 yards set up
Quarles' one-yard keeper.
Elam finished with 70 yards on 12 carries, and Bryant was right behind with 67 yards on 15 tries. Temple added 39 and Quarles 30 on nine carries each.
Quarles was 3 of 6 for 90 yards. Elam made two of the catches for 46 yards and Seth Washington had the other 44-yard catch. The Panthers gained 13
first downs, two more than the Cougars.
Of Dockins' eight completions. Rawlings-Watson hauled in four for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lancaster had 48 yards on three receptions with
Washington getting the other. Barbee led Cougar rushers with 53 yards on 8 carries. Oberhausen averaged over eight yards per carry with 33 yards on
four tries, and Washington gained 14 yards on seven carries. The Cougars had 266 yards total offense.
The Class 3A district champion Panthers (6-4) will be home again next Friday against winless Webster County as the playoffs begin. Logan (4-6) will go
to Hopkins County Central to start action in the Class 4A playoffs.
The LoJo
Before the game, seniors in fall sports and band were recognized. They were as follows:
Golf: Oliver Townsend and Paul Neal Sansom
Soccer: D.J. Watkins, Quenton Gilbert, Julie Sweeney, Chris Phillips, Sherrod Todd and Ethan Edwards
Cheerleading: Brianna Shelton, Chiquita Rose, Courtney Dickeson, Kelsey Cross and Callie Roche
Football: Quinlyn Bell, Cates, Darren Murphy, Cooper Ray, Smith, Hardin, Bouldin and Bryan Harris
Volleyball: Keisha McDowell
Band: Eric Goddard, Emily Guffey and Brayden Haskins