Playoff Preview: Juggernauts stand in way of regional title for Russell

FLATWOODS — At the beginning of the season, coach T.J. Maynard and the Russell Red Devils had made it a goal to win the district, win the region and then get to Kroger Field.

Well, they got their district title and now they're 48 minutes from accomplishing their second goal.

The Red Devils will be looking to check off another box on Friday night when they square off against the Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts in the Kentucky Class 3A regional championship game at Juggernaut Stadium.

"This is what we've been pointing to all year. First of all, winning the district championship makes you the one seed and puts you on a path to get to this game," said Maynard. "We played a really good Bourbon team last week and the kids played hard to get the win and put us in position to get here."

Russell was able to put themselves in this position last week when they beat Bourbon County 14-7 in a defensive slugfest.

The Colonels were able to out gain Russell in total offensive yards. However, the Red Devils came up with key offensive plays such as a 21-yard burst by Lane Osborne to set up a Kaiden Benge touchdown run. Then a play-action pass from Jayden Frasure to Caden Mitchell set up Osborne's game-clinching score in the fourth.

Then defense came up with great individual efforts from players like Wyatt Hudson, Brody Smith and Zack Brown, who combined for 31 of Russell's 69 total tackles on the night. Grayson Kiser also tallied his third interception in as many weeks and Kanenan Jacobs blocked a punt as well in the win.

But now the focus shifts to a Juggernaut team that is all too familiar to Russell.

"So now we're going against a team that we played last year and is similar to us. Last year, it was 21-20 and a very hard fought game. So our kids know who they are playing. They have a lot of the same guys and we got a lot of the same guys."

"They're very similar to us. I feel Lloyd is a lot more committed to running the football than Bourbon was. But their quarterback is different."

Last week, the defense had to bottle up Bourbon County's Malachi Rennie because of his running abilities. But this week, they'll have to bottle up Evans because of his ability to look downfield and find open receivers.

"When (Evans) scrambles, he's not necessarily looking to run, he's looking to chuck the ball down the field. So we talked to our kids about staying coverage. But again, let's get some pressure on him and make him uncomfortable, especially with the weather and make him throw some bad balls."

Evans will arguably be the toughest thrower the Russell defense will face to date. On the season, Evans has completed nearly 72% of his passes for 2,009 yards, 32 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

His favorite targets he will be looking towards are a couple of underclassmen.

Sophomore Colton Barger leads the team with 41 receptions for 890 yards and 13 touchdown grabs. The second key receiver will be junior Isaiah Jones with 23 receptions, 269 yards and 8 scores.

The ground game will feature the tandem of Lincoln Tomlinson and Avery Conrad, who have gotten the lion's share of the carries this season.

Coming into Friday, Tomlinson leads the team with 103 carries for 668 yards and 16 rushing scores. Likewise, Conrad has 651 yards on just 63 touches and 12 scores on the ground.

Maynard acknowledged that the weather will play a role in the game, but feels his team is ready to handle the change in conditions.

"We have to go out and play, execute, take care of the football and handle the weather conditions so we can get a chance to go play for a state championship."

One key factor working in Russell's favor is how they've been able to win the turnover battle this season, as they have a +5 margin for the season.

"In any game you want to take care of the football offense and create turnovers on defense. But obviously the weather will play a role tomorrow night, you know with the rain and all, but we've been really good at taking care of the ball."

The Red Devils will look to counter the Juggernauts with their ground attack to set the tone.

Benge was the workhorse for Russell last week, carrying the ball 22 times for 114 yards. Benge has now gone over the century mark in rushing in both playoff games thus far. Osborne, Jordan Rowe and Benjamin Brinkman will also be featured to contribute to the ground attack.

Then senior QB Jayden Frasure will provide the aerial attack needed to keep Lloyd's defense from creeping up too close to the line of scrimmage.

On the season, Frasure has completed 90 of 133 passes for 1,781 yards, 21 touchdown passes and just 2 interceptions on the year. Frasure is currently second on the school's single season records for passing yards and tied for most touchdown tosses.

Some of his main targets to look for on Friday will be the brothers, Cayden and Jayden Pennington, who have nearly identical stats. Cayden has 20 receptions for 477 yards and 5 scores. Jayden has 18 receptions for 475 and 6 touchdown grabs. Mitchell has also emerged as a valuable target 15 receptions for 219 yards and a pair of scores.

Kickoff is set for 8:00 P.M.

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KHSAA 3A Playoffs

Russell Red Devils (10-2) at Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts (12-0)

Time: Friday, November 21, 8:00 PM

Where: Juggernaut Stadium, Erlanger, KY

Key Matchup to Watch:

Russell defensive line vs. Lloyd Memorial offensive line

The Juggernauts have a strong passing attack and will most certainly be throwing the ball around the yard all night. The Red Devils defensive front will be tasked at getting pressure to come up with some sacks or force a turnover, which could happen because the secondary has been able to make some big plays in recent weeks.

Impact Players to Watch:

Wyatt Hudson & Brody Smith, Russell

The defensive front seven will need to make a huge impact on the game this Friday. Both Hudson and Smith have made an impact all season and will have to live in Lloyd's backfield much like they did last weekend.

Kaleb Evans, Lloyd Memorial

On the season, Evans has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns, so you can fully expect to see the ball fly on Friday night. Evans has a good set of skill guys at his disposal as well.