Three of the greatest backs in Russellville football history will serve as honorary captains for the Russellville Panthers in tonight’s season opener. It’s part of the season-long school and community observance of the 75th anniversary of the first game ever played at Rhea Stadium.
James ‘Sonny’ Duncan, Johnny Guion and Larry Johnson are all members of the Russellville Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame, and deservedly so.
One of Russellville’s most versatile football players ever, Sonny Duncan played tackle on defense while becoming a record-setting running back on offense. He was a 145-pound defensive tackle on Coach Harold Hunter’s 1954 team which compiled an 8-1-2 record. The defense allowed only seven points to Bowling Green while shutting out the other SKY League teams, Glasgow and Franklin. Then in his senior season, he set a WKC rushing record of 1,325 yards that lasted for a decade. In his first game on offense, he scored the only touchdown in a win over Murray. His 60-yard punt return was the only RHS score in a 19-6 loss to Franklin. He threw scoring passes to Glenn Gilliam in identical 14-13 wins over Marion and Owensboro Catholic, and he scored the only touchdown in a 7-6 win over Trigg County. Duncan showed his unselfishness and versatility by playing defensive tackle on this team, too.
Johnny Guion led the SKY League in scoring as a senior in 1958 and also threw 10 touchdown passes. He was named SKY Player of the Year, beating out future NFL player and coach Dale Lindsey of Bowling Green. As a junior he threw four touchdown passes in a win over Henderson County. Guion also had a solid basketball career for coaches B.H. Weaver and Jim Young. He scored 39 points combined against BGH and Franklin-Simpson to lead the Panthers to the first SKY basketball championship as a junior. Guion became a successful businessman and then spent almost two decades as Logan County judge-executive.
Larry Johnson put together one of the greatest seasons in RHS history as a senior in the 1961 season for Coach Waymond Morris. He scored 174 points, rushed for 1,796 yards in 194 carries, and was a threat every time he returned a kick. His WKC record-setting rushing yardage came on an average of 9.5 yards per carry. He averaged 37 yards per carry on his 28 touchdowns. Against Crittenden County, he rushed for 326 yards in just 12 carries and scored five touchdowns, including kickoff returns of 96 and 95 yards. He was named WKC and SKY player of the Year and was second-team All-State behind what was to becoming the University of Kentucky’s starting backfield. As a junior, he was named All-SKY quarterback ahead of future WKU starter Joe Bill Campbell. He also was a starter on Coach Jim Young’s regional finalist basketball team as a junior.
The three superstar backs will be at mid-field for the coin toss against Trigg County tonight. The start of the game has been moved back to 8 p.m. because of concerns about the heat.
Captains will be named for each home game this season.
To learn more about the history of Rhea Stadium and the first team to play there 75 years ago, see the story on The LoJo at http://www.theloganjournal.com/Stories.aspx?Article=sports533