Published: September 06, 2008 12:42 am         

Same ol’ same ol’

Red Devils grind it out, mix in pass

FLATWOODS — Russell’s field had a nice new look. The Devils on the field … well, they had that same old look.

Russell ran up 268 yards on the ground and went up top on a couple long passes — in patented fashion — as the Devils moved to 2-0 with a 35-20 victory over Boyd County on Friday night.

Drew Abrams went for more than 100 yards on the ground for the second straight game and quarterback A.J. Cordle looked impressive all night, polishing off a solid night’s work on Russell’s newly resodded field.

Cordle ran for 93 yards and connected with Justin Mitchell on two long touchdown passes. The pair also hooked up on two touchdowns in Week 1’s win over Greenup County.

Cordle found Mitchell on a 32-yard crossing pattern in the first quarter against Boyd County. The senior, starting his first season at quarterback, stayed patient on the rollout play to his right as Mitchell separated himself from Boyd County’s defender. Cordle deliver a perfect lead pass and Mitchell cruised in from there.

Cordle again found Mitchell on a long scoring pass, this time in the second quarter. Mitchell, a 6-foot-1 senior, got a step behind the Lions’ defense and went up high to bring in another nice throw from Cordle. Mitchell broke free from the defender while coming down with the ball and took it in for the 44-yard score.

The touchdown passes pulled the Red Devils from a 14-14 deadlock to a 28-14 lead.

“There’s no question, that was the difference in the game,” Boyd County coach Lee Evans said of Russell’s passing game.

Boyd County wasn’t without some offensive firepower of its own, however.

The Lions — running out of a three- and four-wide sets — had long drives on their first three possessions, scoring touchdowns on two of them.

They opened the third quarter with another long drive, picking up two fourth-down first downs on the series, and finished it off with a 3-yard run by Lee Smith.

Zac Wilson was the catalyst once again for Boyd County, which racked up 414 yards and had 19 first downs. The senior quarterback had 219 yards on the ground and threw from another 130. He scored all three of the Lions’ Week 1 touchdowns and ran two more in on Friday.

“We knew we were going to be in for a fight tonight,” Russell coach Ivan McGlone said. “Wilson is a great player and he had a great game.”

Wilson’s most explosive play came in the first quarter. Stretching the option out to the left, he made a Russell defender bite on a fake pitch and cut the ball upfield. Sixty-eight yards later he was in the end zone.

Ultimately, though, Evans said his team needs to get more players involved if the Lions (1-1) are going to turn the corner.

“He’s a good player,” Evans said. “But against a good opponent, he can’t do it by himself. We need to get more players involved and we need to make the big plays when we have the opportunities.”

The Lions missed out on a prime scoring opportunity that would have cut Russell’s lead to one possession just before halftime.

Getting the ball back on Russell’s 10-yard line with 2.9 second remaining after a botched punt attempt, Wilson scrambled to his left and threw back across to the middle of the field. The pass was dropped in the end zone, sending the Lions to the locker room down 28-14.

“Thinking back, if we take advantage of that opportunity and then come out in the second half and score — like we did — then who knows what happens,” Evans said.

Russell stayed exclusively on the ground in the second half; Cordle didn’t even attempt a throw. The dagger came with Abrams’ burst around the right side for a 35-yard score in the third quarter. It came just a long kickoff return by David Bailey and one offensive play after Boyd County’s scoring drive to open the half.

“It just takes the life out of you,” Evans said of Abrams’ touchdown, which once again put the Devils up two touchdowns.

Russell chewed up the clock with sustaining drives the rest of the game.

Will Rice had 53 yards, breaking a long run in the fourth quarter that put the game away.

Still, it was the key plays in Russell’s passing game in the first half that made the difference.

“We had to go to the air more and (Cordle’s) got some skill,” McGlone said. “He made some plays.”

     

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