Red Devils edge Musketeers in OT to win Backyard Brawl

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 did a phenomenal job tonight," said Russell coach TJ Maynard. "It really starts with our defense. They did a great job coming up with turnovers and then made the big stop in overtime to set the table for our offense."

Because regulation wasn't enough time to decide the outcome, the game moved into overtime with Greenup getting first possession.

On 2nd-and-goal from the two, Davis would take the snap and sweep to the outside with a clear path to the front pylon of the end zone, but would lose his footing for no gain. The same result would happen on third down, as Wireman's run would go for no gain.

On fourth down, Davis would take the snap to his right and find daylight on the cutback. However, the gap would close down as Wyatt Hudson came off his block and brought down Davis at the one-yard line for the defensive stop.

Russell's offensive possession would get off to a bad start with a penalty and Benge being tackled for a loss of two on second down.

On third-and-goal from the 12, Benge would take a direct snap and follow the blocks of Logan Jones, Benjamin Brinkman and Lane Osborne off the left side and beat everyone to the front corner of the end zone for the winning score as the waiting Russell student section mobbed the junior back as soon as he scored.

The Musketeers gained the early momentum by forcing a three-and-out on Russell's first possession and getting a 35-yard punt return from Landy Lewis to give the offense prime field position on their first possession.

The short field paid off as the Greenup needed 9 plays to reach pay dirt on a 13-yard screen pass by Davis to Eric Campbell. Carter Nunley added the extra point to make it 7-0 with 4:48 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Musketeers had two opportunities to extend their lead on their following possessions. However, they came up empty both times. One of those drives reached inside the 10, but ended with a missed field goal and the other ended just inside the Russell 30 when a fumbled center exchange disrupted a 4th down attempt to keep the drive alive.

Russell took advantage of the miscue and turned it into points on their ensuing possession.

On a third down play, Shawn Deskins got behind the defense and Williams went up top to his receiver for a 56-yard touchdown strike to give the Devils their first big play of the night. The extra point would be blocked, leaving the Musketeers ahead 7-6.

The ensuing kickoff would give the Devils their first takeaway of the night when Sam Totten's pooch kick would be mishandled and Logan Jones recovered it at the Greenup 30.

On the very next snap, Griffin Fisher would get separation on a post route down the middle of the field and Williams would hit his receiver for the 30-yard touchdown pass to give Russell its first lead. Benge would run in the 2-point conversion to make it 14-7 with 1:58 before halftime.

However, Davis would account for 60 of Greenup's 62 yards on the drive with either his arm or feet and help Greenup tie the game up before halftime.

The final play of the drive would be a 29-yard screen pass by Davis to Campbell and the senior back rumbled down the far sideline for his second score of the night. Nunley added the extra point to even the score at the break.

The two teams would trade a score each in the second half . First, it was Benge scoring on a 10-yard swing pass from Willams and then Benge ran in the conversion try to put Russell ahead 22-14 in the third quarter.

Then Ashur Williams scored on a 5 yard run and Davis scored the two-point conversion to even the game with 8:28 remaining in regulation.

Greenup appeared to have a chance to win the game in regulation when Lewis returned a punt 36 yards to the Russell 20 with 6:42 remaining. But again the Musketeers would come away empty-handed when a fumbled handoff exchange allowed Spencer Gross to fall on the football.

Greenup County 7     7   0   8   0 = 22

Russell                        0   14   8   0   6 = 28

First Quarter

GC — Eric Campbell 13 pass from Jasper Davis (Carter Nunley kick), 4:48.

Second Quarter

Rus — Shawn Deskins 56 pass from Hunter Williams (kick blocked), 2:07.

Rus — Griffen Fisher 30 pass from Hunter Williams (Kaiden Benge run), 1:58.

GC — Eric Campbell 29 pass from Jasper Davis (Carter Nunley kick), 0:29.

Third Quarter

Rus — Kaiden Benge 10 pass from Hunter Williams (Kaiden Benge run), 1:41.

Fourth Quarter

GC — Ashur Williams 5 run (Jasper Davis run), 8:28.

Overtime

Rus — Kaiden Benge 12 run.

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GC Rus

First downs 16 6

Rushes-yards 44-196 26-85

Passing yards 135 124

Total yards 331 209

Cmp-Att-Int 11-17-0 8-10-0

Fumbles-lost 4-3 1-1

Penalties-yards 7-74 6-40

Punts-average 1-46.0 5-34.8

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING – Greenup County: Jasper Davis 17-58, Eric Campbell 2-10, Noah McCullough 1-1, Ashur Wireman 20-105 TD, Collin Melvin 4-22; Russell: Jordan Rowe 4-3, Hunter Williams 2-7, Kaiden Benge 14-61 TD, Lane Osborne 6-14.

PASSING – Greenup County: 11-17-0 135 2TD; Russell: Hunter Williams 8-10-0 124 3TD.

RECEIVING – Greenup County: Nolan Clarkson 3-17, Eric Campbell 2-42 2TD, Eli Willis 1-14, Ashur Wireman 1-8, Jacoby Holland 2-36, Landry Lewis 2-18; Russell: Griffin Fisher 4-49 TD, Caden Hampton 1-1, Shawn Deskins 1-56 TD, Kaiden Benge 2-18 TD.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – Carter Nunley 30 (Wide Left).