RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesFLATWOODS In stormy seas, the captain takes the helm. In a Backyard Brawl, the captain gets the ball.
With the heated rivalry game deadlocked at 22-22, Russell won the overtime coin flip and chose defense first against Greenup County.
Red Devils coach TJ Maynard said he and his staff predetermined if they managed to stop the Musketeers, they’d go with the Wildcat formation and repeatedly direct-snap to junior Kaiden Benge.
The plan worked. On third down, Benge bolted from the backfield and found the left side of the end zone from 12 yards out to lift Russell to a 28-22 triumph in extra time at Henry R. Evans Stadium Friday.
“It was so magical to see,” said junior Spencer Gross. “I was blocking back side, and he just kept going. He was relentless and didn’t give up. When he scored, I knew our mission was complete; I was so happy and joyous to see it. … ‘Benny’ showed us why he’s a leader, why he’s a captain.”
“We knew if we got the stop like we wanted, we were going Wildcat and running with Benge four straight times,” Maynard said. “If we didn’t get in, maybe we kick it (on fourth down), but we wanted to give the ball to our best player.”
On third down — following a false start, a 6-yard Benge run and then a 3-yard loss — Benge saw an opening partially created by Lane Osborne and Ben Brinkman blocks.
“That last run felt so good because the whole game had been clogged up,” Benge said. “That one time it was open and it was a good feeling.”
In addition to the game-winning touchdown, Benge finished with 61 yards on 14 rushes, a 10-yard scoring reception and a pair of two-point conversions.
More than half of his total rushing tally came on a 34-yard run in the third quarter.
“At halftime, I took and moment and talked to God, and He helped me get through the second half,” said Benge, who plays running back, linebacker and punter. “He helped me get over the adversity really well.”
Though the game figured to potentially feature several explosive runs, the passing game frequently produced the fireworks.
The contest’s first five touchdowns were through the air.
Russell’s Hunter Williams was 8 of 10 for 132 passing yards. He connected with Shawn Deskins, Griffin Fisher and Benge for throwing scores. Williams officially had two touchdowns within 10 seconds of game clock, finding Deskins from 56 yards out and Fisher from 30 near the end of the second quarter. Sandwiched in between was a kickoff return fumble recovered by Russell’s Logan Jones.
Wyatt Hudson and Gross each also scooped up Musketeers fumbles.
Gross’s recovery occurred just outside the Greenup County red zone with 5:22 to go in a 22-22 duel.
“I see the ball pop out, and I know if I’m not getting there, they’re probably scoring on that next play,” Gross said. “So I was putting my body on the line for that. I thought, I’m gonna sell out for this; and I landed on that ball and it almost comes out. I was terrified. I’m holding onto it like if I wasn’t, I was going to die.”
Russell’s next possession resulted in a 47-yard punt. Stifled by big stops by Brinkman and Hudson, Greenup County didn’t manage to score, prompting overtime.
Hudson continued to come through with timely tackles. The Musketeers needed 10 yards in four tries to crack the goal line. They gained only nine.
“We were able to run the ball all night, but we just didn’t get much movement there,” Greenup County coach Travis Jones said. “We got to the 1-yard line. I just didn’t like how we ran the ball the last two plays … not lowering our shoulder to get to the end zone. We just danced around.”
The Musketeers outgained Russell, 185-86, on the ground. Ashur Wireman paced the Musketeers (1-1) with 101 rushing yards on 19 totes.
“Our goal was to shut down their run game and make them throw the ball,” Jones said. “They made some plays in the air and scored on us, but we lost this game by not playing football the way we’re supposed to play football. We fumbled the ball around everywhere and had penalties all night. We just completely gave that game to Russell. … Hat’s off to them. They capitalized on our mistakes and came away with the victory.”
Greenup County quarterback Jasper Davis went 11 of 17 for 124 yards through the air. Davis completed both of his touchdown passes to Eric Campbell.
Russell (2-0) saw two starters — Ian “Womp” Lother (hamstring) and Ivan McDaniels (wrist) — exit with injury. Maynard was not 100% certain of the extent of the injuries as of late Friday.
“We’re not close to where we can be yet, but the effort and physicality have been there,” Maynard said. “Greenup brought effort and physicality tonight too, and that’s why it was the game it was. … It was a great game. Greenup played their tails off. We played our tails off. We were just lucky enough to be on the winning side tonight.”
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GREENUP CO. 7 7 0 8 0 — 22
RUSSELL 0 14 8 0 6 — 28
FIRST QUARTER
G — Eric Campbell 14 pass from Jasper Davis (Carter Nunley kick), 4:38
SECOND QUARTER
R — Shawn Deskins 56 pass from Hunter Williams (Kick blocked), 2:07
R — Griffin Fisher 30 pass from Williams (Kaiden Benge run), 1:57
G — Campbell 29 pass from Davis (Nunley kick), 0:22
THIRD QUARTER
R — Benge 10 pass from Williams (Benge run), 1:42
FOURTH QUARTER
G — Ashur Wireman 6 run (Davis run), 8:28
OVERTIME
R — Benge 12 run
G R
First downs 15 8
Rushes-yards 43-185 26-86
Comp-Att-Int 11-17-0 8-10-0
Passing yards 124 132
Fumbles-lost 3-3 1-1
Penalties-yards 8-79 7-50
Punts-avg. 1-46 5-33.4
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Greenup County rushing: Wireman 19-101, Davis 17-53, Melvin 4-19, Campbell 2-11, McCullough 1-1.
Russell rushing: Benge 14-61, Osborne 6-15, Williams 2-6, Rowe 4-4.
Greenup County passing: Davis 11 of 17 for 124 yards
Russell passing: Williams 8 of 10 for 132 yards
Greenup County receiving: Clarkson 3-15, Campbell 2-43, Holland 3-34, Lewis 2-18, Wireman 1-14.
Russell receiving: Deskins 1-56, Fisher 4-47, Benge 2-18, Hampton ...
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