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   The best of the best in Alabama High   
  School Football over the past 100 seasons.






2024 Team Previews 

  


Russellville Golden Tigers

Head Coach: Dustin Goodwin (first season)
Career Record: 7 seasons, (36-39)
At Russellville: First season
Stadium: Tigers Stadium
2024 Enrollment:  564
Rank:  98th in the AHSAA, 9th in Class 5A

 History 
Overall Record:   667-365-31   (65.0%)
Last 25 years:   240-75   (76.0%)  (Rank: 18th in the AHSAA, 5th in Class 5A)
Since 2010:   111-52  (68.1%)  (Rank: 56th in the AHSAA, 9th in Class 5A)
Last Playoff Appearance:   2023
Last Region Championship:   2023
Last Winning Season:   2023
Last Losing Season:   2017

 2023 
Class:  5A              Region:   8
Record:  9-3
Region Record:   6-0, (first)
Playoff Record:   Second round loss to Moody by a score of 42-21.
Final ASWA Poll:   Not Ranked
Scoring:  448 (37.3)
Defense:  217 (18.1)


 2024 
Class: 5A              Region:   7
Strength of Schedule: 62-49 (56%) (85th in the AHSAA, 20th in Class 5A)
Region Strength:  29-36 (45%)
Non-Region Strength:  33-13 (72%)



 2023 Results 
 8/25  vs. Grissom  (7A)   35-12   W  
 9/1  vs. Deshler  (4A)   35-13   W  
 9/8  @ Lawrence County  (5A)  *  37-7   W  
 9/15  vs. West Point  (5A)  *  48-14   W  
 9/22  @ East Limestone  (5A)  *  53-7   W  
 9/29  @ Mars Hill  (3A)   24-27   L  
 10/6  @ Brewer  (5A)  *  56-19   W  
 10/13   OPEN 
 10/20  vs. Ardmore  (5A)  *  56-0   W  
 10/27  vs. Fairview  (5A)  *  31-14   W  
 11/3  @ Athens  (6A)   14-41   L  
 Playoffs 
 11/10  vs. Fairfield    38-21   W  
 11/17  @ Moody    21-42   L  

 2024 Schedule 
 8/23  vs. Deshler  (4A)       
 8/30  @ Mars Hill  (3A)       
 9/6  @ Lawrence County  (5A)  *      
 9/13  @ East Limestone  (5A)  *      
 9/20  vs. Ardmore  (5A)  *      
 9/27   OPEN 
 10/4  vs. Fairview  (5A)  *      
 10/11  vs. Hatton  (4A)       
 10/18  @ West Point  (5A)  *      
 10/25  @ Priceville  (5A)  *      
 11/1  vs. Athens  (6A)       


Class  5A Region  7
Team 2023 Record Region Scoring                            
Russellville (5A) 9-3 6-0448-217
Fairview (5A) 9-2 5-1363-117
Lawrence County (5A) 6-5 4-2294-246
Priceville (4A) 5-7 4-3332-365
West Point (5A) 5-6 2-4226-340
East Limestone (5A) 3-7 2-4220-363
Ardmore (5A) 1-9 0-6131-361

 2024 Preview 


       Russellville completed the 2023 season with a 9-3 record. Last year Russellville captured the region eight title and a number one seed in the Class 5A playoffs. They finished region play with a 6-0 record. Russellville reached the second round of the playoffs before falling to Moody by a score of 42-21.

       Since 2010, Russellville has gone a combined 111-52. Their 68.1% winning percentage ranks 9th in Class 5A over the past fourteen seasons.

       Over the past 25 seasons, Russellville has finished a combined 240-75. Their 76.0% winning percentage ranks 5th in Class 5A and 18th in the AHSAA. The Golden Tigers have been successful on the football field with twenty-two winning seasons during this time.

Graduated All-State Players:
       Russellville lost 5A All-State  defensive lineman Matthew James to graduation. He was named to the second team last season. Also graduating was teammate linebacker Malachi Duncan.

Coaching Change:
     John Ritter  moves on to Decatur after spending the last six seasons as the head football coach at Russellville. Each of his teams reached the playoffs and had a combined record of 52-19. In eleven seasons as a head coach his teams have an overall record of 85-42 and all but one qualified for the playoffs. His previous head coaching jobs were at Red Bay for two seasons and West Morgan for another three before landing at Russellville.

2024 Head Coach:
    Dustin Goodwin  spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Thompson. Coach Goodwin was the head football coach at Chelsea for four seasons between 2018-2021 with a record of 15-27. He was also at Plainview for three seasons with a record of 21-12. Goodwin also served as an assistant under his father at Russellville. Over the course of his career, Coach Goodwin's teams have qualified for the playoffs a total of five times and won one region championship.

Season Outlook:

       The Russellville Golden Tigers will play in Class 5A region seven during the 2024 season. Following realignment, the Golden Tigers remain in 5A but move from region eight over to region seven.

      

       Russellville enters the 2024 season with a string of 6 consecutive wins on their home field at Tigers Stadium.

       The Golden Tigers lost starting quarterback Harrison Burch to graduation and the 1,766 yards and 15 touchdowns he threw for last season. Finding a replacement will be important along with all the senior class who graduated in May.

       The Golden Tigers will face eight teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2023. The Golden Tigers open non-region play against Deshler then take on Mars Hill, Hatton and Athens later in the season. Their non-region opponents were a combined 33-13 in 2023.

       Coach Goodwin in his first year in Russellville to AHSFHS.org ''We have a young group with a lot of potential. When you lose 27 seniors, new guys have to step up and take on those roles.'' The Tigers have won the last four region titles in northwest Alabama so look for them to be in the hunt for another championship this year.

    The Golden Tigers are considered one of the favorites for the region seven championship this season and a home game in the first round of the playoffs. The Golden Tigers have successfully qualified for the playoffs every year since 2017 and expect to be included again when November rolls around.

Players to Watch in 2024:
      RB Cameron Phinizee will be returning for his junior season after rushing for 2,378 yards and 40 TDs last season.

Returning Starters:
OFFENSE: Neyland Baker, Eddie Velasquez, Gunner Sappington, Cameron Phinizee
DEFENSE: Jah Williams, Ben Pounders, Richard Scott, Zay Hubbard, Paxton Wray
NEWCOMERS: Elliot Green, Tyrese Wilson, Parker Medley, Sam Wilson, Tripp Cleveland, Whit Goodwin, Daniel Aycock

Season Opener:
       The Golden Tigers open the 2024 season at home against non-region opponent Deshler on Friday, August 23 at Tigers Stadium. Last year the Deshler Tigers finished with an overall record of 8-4 and in second place in Class 4A region seven. The Tigers lost in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs to Westminster Christian by a score of 39-35.

       Russellville and Deshler have met a total of 98 times on the football field. The Golden Tigers have a 48-46-4 record against the Tigers. They last met in 2023 with Russellville winning by a score of 35-13.

  


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