Franklin-Simpson 47 - Russellville 15

By J. Trace Kirkwood

I want to clear up some old and new business before I head into my astute analysis of the football game in Russellville on Friday night. First, take note that my name now appears above the story. A loyal reader pointed out to me that maybe I was hiding my identity from fans, coaches, and players by not putting my name on the stories. I never thought of it that way. They said, "Chris Gregory puts his name on the stories, but you don't. Are you scared?"

There's no yellow stripe on me, and I never intended to shelter my identity from the savvy and intelligent readers of the Pennyrile Pick and Roll. I didn't want the website to be about me, unless I could share something funny or stupid about myself. There's plenty of material to draw from the latter.

Secondly, the Pennyrile Pick and Roll will be loosely known as the Pennyrile Hook and Ladder during the football season. I won't change the banner, but I will be covering some football games this fall.

Finally, my little boy is a Pick and Roll correspondent in the making. I told him he was a skunk tonight because he was being disobedient. He very seriously and with a straight face told me, "I spanked a skunk right on his behind one time, and he didn't even spray me." It was an absolute and complete fabrication, but he told it like it was true. He never recanted his story, either. He's got the skill set to be either a politician or a Pick and Roll writer.

I'm afraid to write too much about the Russellville game because I'm writing a story for High School Zone Magazine about Russellville's stadium and team. There's a good reason for that. When I write for HSZ, I make a little money. When I write stuff for Pick and Roll, well, I generally lose money.

Normally, when I've been to a game at an old stadium like Rhea Stadium in Russellville, I'd go on ad infinitum about the architecture and the atmosphere of the old place because I love old stadiums and gymnasiums. I'm not going to that here because I don't want the publisher of the magazine to phone me and call me bad names. Mostly, I want the checks to clear the bank.

I will say this. When the stadium lights took over after sunset, they were a beacon to every flying, jumping, and crawling bug in Logan County. I was raised up on the edge of the Everglades and swatted fewer bugs on a summer evening. I don't mean anything bad about the stadium because it's a problem for all football stadiums at this time of the year.

Early in the game Franklin-Simpson discovered how to get over and through Russellville's defense. They also capitalized on nearly every mistake the Panthers made during the game. After a fumble at 8:25 in the first quarter, the Wildcats pounced with a touchdown at 7:32 with a pass from Courtney Dalcourt to tight end Jim Murphee.

Franklin-Simpson running back Patrick Flippin had a huge night busting through holes in the Russellville defensive line. The Wildcats spread out their offense, and Russellville had no answer for it. Flippin hung a second touchdown on the Panthers with 3:51 left in the first.

On the kickoff after a missed field goal, Russellville's Damian Elam mishandled the ball but ran the ball back 97 yards for a touchdown. After he fumbled around with the ball inside the five yard line, the Wildcat return coverage split like the Red Sea in front of Moses. Elam's touchdown breathed some life into the Panthers and their fans, but with less than a minute in the quarter Dalcourt connected with Murphee in the endzone by threading a three yard pass through a pair of Panther defenders. The first quarter ended with the Wildcats up 20-7.

In the second quarter Flippin busted a 63 yard ramble through the middle of Russellville's defense and scored a touchdown. Dalcourt found Zack Herrington in the endzone for another touchdown with 3:51 left in the half. Franklin-Simpson took a commanding 34-7 lead to the locker room.

Late in the third quarter, Russellville Head Coach John Myers replaced starting quarterback Zach Smith with sophomore D.J. Quarles. It seemed that Quarles brought another dimension to the position because he was able to run the ball better than Smith. With 9:24 left in the game, Quarles linked up with Zach Smith, who was playing wide receiver, for a 60+ yard touchdown pass. Smith ran past all the Wildcat defenders.

Russellville opted for the two point conversion and handed the ball off to Damian Elam, who made the athletic play of the night. He jumped over a diving Wildcat defender to convert the extra-points.

Franklin-Simpson should have a good ball team this season with Courtney Dalcourt at quarterback and athletic receivers like Murphee and Herrington. Patrick Flippin adds another dimension to their offense out of the backfield, not too mention Dalcourt skills at scrambling. Dalcourt, however, needs to give up on the scramble and throw the ball out of bounds after he has rolled out of the tackle box.

Russellville? They are going to have to start popping people on the football field. They don't seem to play very physical football, and they have to quit making so many mistakes. The turn the ball over too much, and their special teams are inconsistent.

OBSERVATIONS

What is this, Exxon? Fans have to shell out five bucks for a program and roster at Rhea Stadium. The program is for all the fall sports, but five bucks?! I'm just kidding because I know it helps fund some of the athletics programs. I was hoping for a coupon for Roy's barbecue.

It's Rigged! Russellville Independent School System's superintendent's wife won the drawing at Rhea Stadium. Hey, now!

Funny Story: One of my best friends, Russ Cummins, who does the play-by-play for Fern Creek High School football told me a story about his uncle "R.D." R.D. played for Bowling Green years ago when the Purples and the Panthers tangled every year. A Russellville player delivered a crushing blow to my friend's uncle, but R.D. jumped right back up and ran to the sideline and sat down on the bench. There was a problem, though. The hit knocked the sense out of the player, and he was sitting on Russellville's bench. The Panther players got away from him like he just walked out of the reactor core at Three Mile Island. Bowling Green had to dispatch a manager to retrieve their discombobulated player. If I remember right, that happened at Rhea Stadium.