VANCEBURG — A total of seven different Russell running back combined 218 yards on the ground and five touchdowns to help the Red Devils cruise their way to a 60-6 win over the Lewis County Lions on Thursday night. After suffering two one-possession losses and a sluggish first half against Fleming County two weeks ago, Russell was aiming for a better start to this game. And for the most part, they got what they wanted. "I thought out execution started out much better compared

FLATWOODS — Some key offensive plays, and a solid rushing performance helped Russell overcome a sluggish first half and help the Red Devils rout the Fleming County Panthers 41-6 in their district opener on Friday night at Henry R. Evans Stadium. "Execution early on was disappointing," Russell offensive coordinator Lance Evans. "I don't know if the Ashland game kind of led over into this game. But blocking, tackling, catching, throwing, play calling, everything was just out of

ASHLAND — They bent but they certainly didn't break. Ashland's defense pulled off a thrilling goal line stand from inside the 3-yard line on Russell's final drive of the game and Tomcats edged past the Red Devils 14-7 on Friday night at Puntnam Stadium. Both teams came into the game in different directions with Ashland (5-0) staying undefeated after rolling their way past East Jessamine. Meanwhile, the Red Devils (3-2) suffered their first loss of the season in Paintsville la

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — It was one of those games when you just grit your teeth. The defenses were going to dominate. And the defense did just that in this battle of unbeatens as the Paintsville Tigers edged the Russell Red Devils 13-7 on Friday. Paintsville (4-0) held Russell to 198 total yards while the Red Devils limited the Tigers to 218 yards. Paintsville quarterback Parker Helton was 12 of 22 for 127 yards and a touchdown. Logan Carpenter ran 7 times for 42 yards and a score

FLATWOODS — Despite coming away with an emotional Backyard Brawl win last week, Russell still needed to get back on track. And the Red Devils got themselves back on track with a punishing ground game and a smothering defense to rout the West Carter Comets 35-6 on Friday night at Henry R. Evans Stadium. While he was happy to win his first two games, the message all week from coach TJ Maynard and his staff was that the team needed to get back to basics and take care of the deta

FLATWOODS — The heat could be felt in the air and on the field Thursday night as both Wheelersburg and Russell's boys soccer teams' battled it out on the pitch on Thursday night. But in the end, Coleton Schwamburger wound up netting the games' only goal to lift the Pirates to a 1-0 win over the Red Devils in a heated non-conference clash of two great programs. "Going across the river is always going to be a battle," said Pirate coach Jon Estep. "We know what type of program R

FLATWOODS — A phenomenal defensive effort and clutch play in overtime allowed the Russell Red Devils to beat the Greenup County Musketeers 28-22 in the annual Backyard Brawl rivalry game on Friday night at Henry R. Evans Stadium. For Russell, it wasn't a pretty performance. The Greenup offense outgained the Devils 331-209 and had 10 more first downs. But in the end, it was the Devils' defense that was able to bend but not break and made the difference in the game. "Our kids d

COAL GROVE — After last seasons' 10-win campaign, the Russell Red Devils were left with a lot of questions about their squad for the 2026 season. For Russell coach TJ Maynard, most of the questions focused around replacing four starters on the offensive line, breaking in a new quarterback for the third straight season, and replacing his entire defensive backfield. Well, much of those questions got answered as the Red Devils took down the Coal Grove Hornets in a 34-0 win on Fr

They are the second line of defense, but that’s the only thing second about them. Linebackers make up the second line of defense and are needed to read the situation and react quickly. And their jobs are plentiful. While the defensive linemen tie up the offensive linemen, the linebackers are versatile players who fill holes, stop the running gaps, blitz the quarterback and drop back into pass coverage. Here’s a lot at five of the top linebackers to watch this high school foot

Players and coaches of the 2026 Russell Red Devils’ football team. FLATWOODS, Ky. — The Russell Red Devils lost a lot of good players from last season’s talented team. But head coach T.J. Maynard is taking the approach of looking at the glass being half-full instead of half-empty. Russell was 10-3 last season and went 4-0 to win the district championship before losing 28-13 to Lloyd Memorial in the regional championship game. Gone is the quarterback, the top two wide receiver

FLATWOODS — Greenup County's Brody Howard delivered a gem of a performance from the mound on Monday night to help the Musketeers beat the Red Devils 5-1 in the nightcap of the 63rd District Semifinals on Monday. Howard pitched a two-hit gem while going the distance for the Musketeers. The sophomore also struck out six batters, walked seven and the only run given up was unearned. Howard also picked off a pair of Red Devil baserunners in key situations to limit Russell's scorin

FLATWOODS, Ky. — After some early scoring, both pitching staffs' for Russell and Fairland settled in and turned the game into a pitchers' duel, with the Red Devils hanging on to edge past the Dragons 3-2 on Friday night. Russell used a trio of pitchers in the game, with Jayden Frasure picking up the win in 3 innings of work. Frasure gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, struck out 3 and walked a pair. Hayden McGowan and Caleb Groves both threw 2 innings apiece and combined for 4 scoreless

Photos courtesy of Jeremy Holtzapfel. For more of Jeremy's photos or to purchase any, contact us at: info.tristatesportspage@gmail.com

Russell Red Devils’ senior wide receivers Cayden and Jayden Pennington signed a letter-of-intent with the Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs. Attending the signing ceremony were, from left to right, Kiersten Clark, Paul Patterson, Kathy Patterson, Amanda Clark and father Zack Clark. (Photo submitted) Just when it appeared Russell Red Devils’ twin brothers were headed in opposite directions for the first time in their lives, an offer came that they couldn’t refuse. Wide re

FLATWOODS, Ky. — “Ah, might as well jump. Go ahead and jump. Might as well jump. Go ahead and jump.” Russell Lady Red Devils’ coach Destiny Goins would like to see her young team follow Van Halen’s advice. Although the Lady Devils did jump, Goins wished it would have been quicker as they beat the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 7-2 on Saturday. “I think we could have jumped out a little earlier, maybe finished it a little bit earlier,” said Goins. Russell is now 8-16 on the season a

FLATWOODS, Ky. — Extra innings. Extra drama. Extra satisfaction for a win. A clutch run-scoring double by Grayson Fisher in the 10th inning gave the Russell Red Devils a 5-4 win over the Greenup County Musketeers Monday in a 63rd District game. In the 10th inning, Jayden Frasure beat out a base hit in the hole at shortstop to start the inning. Griffin Fisher put down a sacrifice bunt that put Frasure in scoring position at second base. The right-handed hitting Fisher came up

FLATWOODS — Always better late than never. Struggling to get their bats going for five innings, Russell's offense ignited for 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth to give the Red Devils a 13-3 run rule win over the Lewis County Lions on Monday evening. Russell (10-4) ended up with 15 hits in total, with Dawson Wada going 3-of-4 at the plate and two RBI. Layne Paxson went 3-3 with a double and an RBI. Hunter McGowan went 2-4 with an RBI. Griffin Fisher 2-4 with two RBI. Jacob To

FLATWOODS, Ky. — It was bounce back time for the South Point Lady Pointers. After a tough loss on Thursday, the Lady Pointers bounced back on Friday with a 9-4 win over the Russell Lady Devils. Kota Copley pitched a seven-hitter as she struck out 10 and walked six for the win. Copley also went 3-5 at the plate. Russell took the lead in the bottom of the first with a one out single by Hadley Cook to score Bella Hall. Nora Ladd followed up with sacrifice fly into right field an

OLIVE HILL — Both Grayson Kiser and Griffin Fisher combined for 8 runs batted in and Lokelio Ancheta tossed a two-hit shutout to help the Russell Red Devils roll past the West Carter Comets 17-0 in 3 inning mercy rule on Tuesday evening. The Red Devils wasted little putting a dent in the scoreboard, as they erupted with 9 runs in the opening frame. Ancheta singled to score a run, Dawson Wada scored on an error to make it 2-0. Then Fisher singled with one out to score two runs

PROCTORVILLE — Country singer Crystal Gayle once sang, “Don’t Take Me Half the Way.” The Fairland Dragons led halfway through the game only to have the Russell Red Devils rally for a 9-2 win on Monday. Fairland (0-3) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and Dragons stayed ahead until the fourth inning when Russell scored three runs to take the lead for good. Russell (5-2) erupted for five runs in the fifth inning and added an insurance run in the sixth. Hayden McGowan doubled