News Briefs on The LoJo for September 2016
By Jim Turner


Posted on October 30, 2016 5:54 PM



Sep 30, 2016

Panthers crush Pilots, now 7-0

Scoring six touchdowns in the first quarter, the Russellville Panthers cruised to a 62-0 win at Fulton County Friday. Four of the TD's in that first stanza came via defense and special teams. Devin Quarles returned a fumble, T.K. Hampton and Jacob Naylor returned interceptions, and M.J. Jones returned a punt, all for scores. On offense, Jaylin McMurry ran for a score and completed a long pass to Jordan Blick for a touchdown. Blick also ran a 2-point conversion as the placekick holder. Coach John Myers let senior tackles Chris Matthews and Caleb Hardison carry the ball once each, and Matthews responded with a touchdown. Johnny Drumgole and Drew West also rushed for touchdowns. Because of defensive dominance and a running clock in the first quarter, the Panthers ran only 18 plays and were well below their average with 181 yards. The Panthers and their 7-0 record will take a week off for Fall Break and the Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival.



Sep 26, 2016

Former Democrati chair
June Lyne Robinson dies

Funeral arrangements have been announced by Summers, Kirby & Sanders Funeral Home for June Lyne Robinson, who served as chair of the Logan County Democratic Executive Committee for eight years. She grew up in politics. Her great uncle was Lt. Gov. Emerson 'Doc' Beauchamp. Her material grandparents, J.T. and Allie Mae Linton, were both state representatives, she as the first woman to serve Logan County in that office. Mrs. Robinson's father, Jim Lyne, was commonwealth attorney for Logan and Todd counties. She was a former teacher in the Logan County Schools. See her obituary on The LoJo at http://theloganjournal.com/Obituary.aspx?ID=479.



Sep 23, 2016

Cougars come close, lose in OT

Never trailing in regulation and leading by 14 points with 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Logan County Cougars let what was almost their first win in 1,422 days slip through their fingers Friday, literally. Too many dropped passes and a key fumble in the red zone played a big role in the Cougars falling 35-27 to visiting Hopkins County Central in overtime. The Cougars' last score came midway through the third quarter, as quarterback Tyler Ezell was not the same in the second half after suffering an arm injury late in the second half, connecting on just two passes following the injury. Freshman running back Gary Hardy  was the bulk of the offense in the second half and finished with over 150 yards for the game.



Sep 23, 2016

Cougars build lead on Storm

When senior Lorenzo Garcia caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from freshman Tyler Ezell Friday night, it gave Coach Todd Adler's team a 19-6 lead over Hopkins County Central at the LCHS Homecoming. It was the second time Ezell and Garcia had connected for a TD pass in the first 19 minutes of the game. The Cougars had scored on drives of 72, 70 and 67 yards. The Storm came back to score on their next drive, going 65 yards, aided by consecutive 15-yard penalties on the Cougars. That made the Logan lead 19-13 with 3:13 left in the half. Ezell was injured late in the half. Nate Woodall came in to replace him and completed a pass to Chandler Silvey inside the Storm 10-yard line, but the Cougars couldn't add to their lead. Logan has lost 38 straight games, dating back to Oct. 12, 2012. 



Sep 23, 2016

Cougars to entertain Hopkins Central

The Logan County Cougars will play host to Hopkins County Central tonight in the first Class 4A district game for both teams. Coach Steven Wood’s Storm has a 3-2 record with wins over Crittenden County, Breckinridge County and Webster County and losses to Muhlenberg County and McLean County. Coach Todd Adler’s Cougars played Muhlenberg almost as close as HCC did. The Cougars have given up the second most points in Class 4A, trailing only Warren Central. The Cougar offense seems improved this year, having scored two or more touchdowns in four of their five losses. Eight 4A teams have scored fewer points than Logan. The game will be aired live on WRUS with Andy and Zack Woodall calling the action.



Sep 21, 2016

Stratton has super kicking game for Murray

Former Logan County multi-sports star Landon Stratton was what has been termed a "rare bright spot" in a lopsided Murray State University loss Saturday. The Racers fell 50-17 to Southern Illinois, and Stratton had to punt eight times. He averaged 49.4 yards per kick, highlighted by a 78-yarder. Two other punts went over 50 yards. The Racers are 0-3 entering OVC play this Saturday. Stratton is a redshirt sophomore.



Sep 21, 2016

Kickoff of RHS game at
Murray pushed back to 7:30

Fans of the Russellville Panthers will have to wait to see their beloved, talented and second-ranked Panthers in action Friday. Athletic Director Calvin Head has announced that kickoff for Russellville at Murray has been moved from 7 p.m. to 7:30. The Tigers beat Coach John Myers' team last year, but Russellville is 5-0 and Murray is 1-4, not scored more than seven points in any game against a Kentucky team.



Sep 18, 2016

Marching Cougars finish 2nd

overall in RHS Show of Bands

The Logan County Marching Cougars finished second overall among seven bands in Russellville’s Show of Bands at Rhea Stadium. The only band to place above them represented one of Tennessee’s biggest high schools, Nashville McGavock. The Marching Cougars won first place in their class, Best Color Guard in their class and also the Spirit Award. David Dayton is band director. The Marching Cougars will host their own band show this Saturday.



Sep 16, 2016

Panthers disarm Rebels, go to 5-0

For the fourth straight season, the Russellville Panthers are 5-0 at the midpoint. And for the third straight game, they scored over 50 points in a 54-0 shutout at Todd Central. The Panthers already had a big lead when Jordan Blick blocked a Reble punt and Drew West took the ball in for a touchdown. The final score came on backup quarterback Jacob Naylor's 11-yard run. West, Jones, Naylor, Johnny Drumgole & Jaylin McMurry all ran for 25 yards or more. Edward Barber had a touchdown called back. McMurry threw two touchdown passes, one of them to Devin Quarles. The Panthers go to Murray next week.



Sep 16, 2016

Panthers looking for 5-0 start at Todd

The Russellville Panthers are expected to continue their not only winning but winning big tonight when they travel to Todd Central for a 7 p.m. game. Coach John Myers' team has a 4-0 record and has only been challenged by Butler County. The Panthers are the highest scoring team in Class 1A with an average of 46.5 points scored per game. The Panthers' five opponents, Todd County Coach Les Broady's Rebels tonight, have a combined record of 4-16. The Panthers showed no weaknesses in building a running clock against the Logan County Cougars midway through the second quarter last. This could be a tune-up for next week's RHS game with Murray, one of the two teams to beat them in last year's state semifinalist regular season. Murray, however, is 1-3 currently with all three losses in Kentucky. Tonight's game will begin at 7 p.m., but John Brett Reynolds & Alex Watkins will handle Countdown to Kickoff show beginning at 6:30 on 610 WRUS and https://network1sports.com/station/wrus.



Sep 16, 2016

Cougars to entertain Greenwood tonight

Hoping to build on their second half momentum against Russellville, the Logan County Cougars will entertain long-time rival Greenwood tonight at LCHS. After falling way behind the Panthers in the first quarter, Coach Todd Adler's Cougars showed courage and effort in playing the powerful Panthers much better as the game progressed. Coach Chris Seabolt's Gators won their first three games of the season--including a 17-16 upset of South Warren, but after some personnel changes they fell 24-20 last week to undefeated Franklin-Simpson. The Cougars continue to get great effort from promising freshman quarterback Tyler Ezell and introduced freshman running back Gary Hardy as potentially a game breaker. Sophomore Chandler Silvey did many things well in the game, and senior Lorenzo Garcia is a strong offensive weapon for the team. The Cougars have several injuries, including talented receiver Ryan Flores and top defender Curtis Shelton. The game can be heard on 610 WRUS and https://network1sports.com/station/wrus at 2 p.m. Saturday with Zack and Andy Woodall calling the action.



Sep 13, 2016

TVA rate increase to raise

Russellville EPB bills slightly

From the Russellville Electric Plant Board: TVA has approved a budget that contains an effective retail rate increase of 1.5 percent, (1.44 percent to our average residential customer.) This is approximately an increase of $1.42 on an average residential bill using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month. This increase will take effect on the October 2016 bill.

 



Sep 9, 2016

Panthers win Clash 54-14

After running only two offensive plays, the Russellville Panthers found themselves ahead 21-0 at Logan County Friday three and a half minutes into the game. M.J. Jones  returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown, quarterback Jaylin McMurry hit a wide-open Paul Jones for a 53-yard score, Bryson Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it to set up a 4-yard TD run by Jacobie Mason and Milam Watkins kicked three extra points to account for the early scoring. Three Panther plays later, Johnny Drumgole scored on a pass from McMurry and Watkins made it 28-0. The margin grew to 34 on a 3-yard run by Drew West less than halfway through the first quarter. Coach Todd Adler's Cougars kept the Panthers out of the end zone for the equivalent of a quarter, but the running cleck began with eight minutes remaining in the quarter after a 71-yard run by Jones. Still Logan didn't quit and gave fans a glimpse of the future with the combination of freshman quarterback Tyler Ezell, freshman running back Gary Hardy and sophomore Chandler Silvey. Ezell threw passes to senior Lorenzo Garcia for two touchdowns. Lane Berry kicked the conversions.



Sep 9, 2016

Logan's Zach Simpson to lead Lady Gators

Zach Simpson, who has been on the Logan County Lady Cougars basketball coaching staff the past seven seasons, was named the new head coach of the Greenwood Lady Gators in the 14th District this week. Simpson has been the top assistant under coaches Scot MacAllister and Finley Baird during his tenure at Logan. He and Baird have coached the Lady Cougars to three straight 13th District championships and a composite 43-19 worksheet the past two seasons. Simpson was also the program's liason with the media, providing the results of every game immediately afterwards.



Sep 7, 2016

Senior Center moving to old library

Through a joint effort of Russellville City Council and Logan Fiscal Court, the Senior Center in Russellville is moving from 701 Day Street to the long-time location of Logan County Public Library on West Sixth and Winter streets, Mayor Mark Stratton & Judge-Executive Logan Chick have announced. Over 20,000 square feet in size, the building, which was constructed in 1967 and greatly enlarged in 1974, has been vacant for a couple of years since the library moved into its current facility on Armory Drive. Russellville owns the building while the Senior Center is part of Logan County. Funding is all local, according to Don Neagle of WRUS, who also notes that the Community Action office now located on East Fourth Street will also be moved to the West Sixth location. State Rep. Martha Jane King says, “I’m proud to serve in a district where government can work together.”



Sep 6, 2016

Stage set for LATC groundbreaking 

Final preparations were made Tuesday for the groundbreaking ceremony to be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the Logan County Area Technology Center. The tree line and fence row between the two fields was cleared away by earthmoving machinery brought in Friday from Georgia. A tent has been erected and a sign is in place. The $14.8 million facility is to be located in front of Logan County High School on what has been the cross country track. Construction is expected to begin right away. The facility will replace the 50-year-old Russellville Area Technology Center, which was known as "the vocational school" for decades.



Sep 6, 2016

Lex Lindsey to coach AC-S boys

Lex Lindsey, who helped Coach Mike Haynes lead the Logan County Lady Cougars to two state basketball quarterfinal berths before building an elite girls basketball program at Franklin-Simpson, was named the new boys basketball coach at Allen County-Scottsville High School this week. A graduate of Barren County High School, he came to LCHS in his second year of coaching, helping the Lady Cougars win regional titles in 1989 and 1990. During his eight years as the Lady Cats head coach, he directed F-S to a 208-43 record and three regional titles plus a state runner-up finish. He coached the boys team at F-S one season before giving up coaching in 2012—for a while. Lindsey will be the Patriots’ 13th head coach since consolidation in 1974. The team struggled to a 6-23 record last year. Two of those head coaches have been the late Gary Shelton of Lewisburg and his son, Scott Shelton.


High-achieving middle school
softball teams to clash

 

The future of softball in the Land of Logan will be on display Tuesday afternoon when the Logan County Middle School Lady Cougars visit the Russellville Middle School Lady Panthers in a game scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Cougars are coached by Amy Goodman Hinton and the Lady Panthers by Ryan Davenport. Both teams have been playing very well and reportedly started the season with several wins each. RMS reports the results of each game regularly. So far, Logan County has not reported any results.



Sep 5, 2016

Event set Saturday to honor memory of P.J. Gilbert

A celebration of the life of P.J. Gilbert and a fundraiser in his honor will be held this Saturday from 4-8 p.m. at Hampton Park in Russellville. P.J. died tragically on July 24. Proceeds will be used to pay the remainder of his funeral expenses and to set up a trust fund for his unborn child. Motivational speakers on each hour will include Reggie Collier, Chris Elliott, Maurice Beard & Joe Duncan. The Russellville Police Department cruiser, the R’ville Fire Department, face painting, bouncy houses, deejay Shane Hicks and food will be part of the evening. Tee shirts can be ordered at a cost of $10 to $15. For more information call 270-772-4727, 270-996-1948 or 270-772-1973.

 


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