Red Devils pounce all over Tigers, 41-0

FLATWOODS  — The Russell Red Devils scored on all 6 of its first half possessions and rolled past the Paintsville Tigers 41-0 at Henry R. Evans/Ivan McGlone Field on Friday night.

"I'm very pleased with our guys tonight. We really didn't know what to expect from our kids against (Paintsville) because we still have some young guys out there. So, you wonder if they'll show up and a just think they'll win or will they come out and play hard. And one good thing about this team is they play hard," said Russell coach T.J. Maynard.

"I'm happy where we're at right now. We're getting better. And the good thing is there's still a high ceiling for us. I think our offensive line is coming along, but can still get better. Benge came back tonight and it's going to take him a while before he's where he needs to be. But we have some guys who can help us until everyone comes along," said Maynard.

Paintsville's offense never found its footing, which was exemplified on their first drive of the game. A first down run by running back Anderson Lauffer went for no gain after a stop by Zach Brown and Dameon Williams. A high snap on second down drove the Tigers backwards 22 yards. Then on third down, Lauffer was met with a crushing hit from Brody Smith.

Following a short punt, the Red Devils (4-0) wasted little time getting in the end zone as Jayden Pennington slipped behind his defender while Frasure rolled to his left and the seniors both hooked up for a 20-yard touchdown toss. Sam Totten split the sticks to make it 7-0 with 7:37 left in the opening quarter.

Frasure finished the night with another impressive performance through the air, going 9 of 15 for 173 yards and tossed 3 touchdown passes.

The senior quarterback's play and his potential for the remainder of the season excites his top target, Jayden Pennington.

"Jay Fray has been efficient. He's gotten better and better each week. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

Another three-and-out from Paintsville (3-1) translated into another short touchdown drive for Russell, as a punt from Lauffer was fielded by Cayden Pennington and the senior rocketed down the home sideline for 30 yard return to the Tiger 24.

Six plays later, the Red Devils hit pay dirt.

Kaiden Benge — who had been sidelined the first 3 games with a lower body injury — made his return to the field and end zone on his second carry of the game, barreling across the goal line from 2-yards out.

Benge finished the game as the top rusher for the Red Devils with 51 yards on 9 carries. Jordan Rowe carried the ball 7 times for 33, as a committee of backs compiled 136 yards on the ground for the game.

The Tigers were able to move into Russell territory on their next drive. But the drive came to a halt when Lauffer was cut down by Cayden Pennington for a loss on a fourth down run play, giving the ball back to the Red Devils with under 2 minutes left in the first quarter.

On Russell's next play from scrimmage, Frasure lofted a pass to Cayden Pennington down the far hash mark, and Pennington made a leaping grab, spun off from a would-be tackler, and raced 66-yards for the touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

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The defense continued to make it known to the Tigers that yards were going to be hard to come by, as a combined sack from Brown and Tate Smith, and a fourth down stop thanks to immense pressure from Wyatt Hudson put the Russell offense on another short field.

Senior Cayden Pennington credited the team's ability to stick to their assignments as the reason for their success.

"We all just stick to our assignments, because we know if we each do the right thing, they're not going to go anywhere," said Cayden. "I feel like we've gotten a lot better with our assignments. We're much more locked in."

The Red Devils took advantage of the short field, but not without some resistance from Paintsville's defense.

The Red Devils faced a fourth-and-three from the Tiger 19. But Lane Osborne was able to take a handoff to his left and get around the corner and race down the sideline for the score after Osborne had to make some contact at the goal line. Gavin Skaggs added the extra point to make the score 27-0 with 9:50 to go in the second quarter.

Russell's next score mid way through the quarter and came in thunderous fashion. Frasure would hit Anderson Haggard out of the backfield towards the far side, and Haggard turned his way up the sideline, stayed inbounds after an attempt to shove him out, and finally plowed over a Paintsville defender at the 3 but stepped out at the 2.

On the next play, Haggard got his score, negotiating the final yardage for the touchdown to extend the lead to 34-0.

Paintsville's next possession ended with a turnover when Kanenan Jacobs popped the ball loose from the arms of Brody Howell and teammate Brody Smith fell on the ball.

The takeaway turned into points in the final seconds of the half, as Frasure rolled to his right and threw back to Jacobs on a screen. Then the sophomore tight end followed the blocks of his offensive line and even delivered a shot to a defender as he crossed over for the touchdown. Skaggs added the extra point to finish off the scoring for the game with 27 seconds remaining before halftime.

The second half was played under the KHSAA's running clock mercy rule.

The Pennington brothers finished as top targets for Frasure and the Russell passing attack. Jayden caught a team-high 3 passes for 53 yards, and Cayden had 1 reception for a game-high 66 yards.

Parker Helton led the Tigers offensively with 107 yards passing. His top target was Colton Short with 7 receptions for 52 yards. Lauffer had 6 catches for 42 yards, which included a leaping grab for 31-yards in the second half.

The Red Devils are back at home next Friday to face rival Ashland.

Paintsville 0 0 0 0 = 0

Russell 20 21 0 0 = 41

First Quarter

Ru — Jayden Pennington 20 pass from Jayden Frasure (Sam Totten kick), 7:37.

Ru — Kaiden Benge 2 run (Gavin Skaggs kick), 3:42.

Ru — Cayden Pennington 66 pass from Jayden Frasure (kick failed), 1:40.

Second Quarter

Ru — Lane Osborne 19 run (Gavin Skaggs kick), 9:50.

Ru — Anderson Haggard 3 run (Sam Totten kick), 5:40.

Ru — Kanenan Jacobs 14 pass from Jayden Frasure (Gavin Skaggs kick), 0:26.

———

Pa Ru

First downs 7 16

Rushes-yards 12-4 26-136

Passing yards 107 173

Total yards 111 309

Cmp-Att-Int 16-25-0 9-16-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 4-40 4-20

Punts-average 3-23.0 1-36.0

———

Individual Leaders

RUSHING – Paintsville: Andrew Meeks 3-17, Anderson Lauffer 3-7, Lukas Stewart 1-8, Parker Helton 3-minus 9, Brody Howell 3-13, Team 2-minus 32; Russell: Jordan Rowe 7-33, Ivan McDaniels 2-3, Jayden Frasure 1-minus 1, Logan Jones 2-6, Anderson Haggard 3-18 TD, Kaiden Benge 9-51 TD, Lane Osborne 4-25 TD, Benjamin Brinkman 2-1.

PASSING – Paintsville: Parker Helton 16-25-0 107; Russell: Jayden Frasure 9-15-0 173 3TD, Wyatt Hudson 0-1-0 0.

RECEIVING – Paintsville: Andrew Meeks 2-11, Anderson Lauffer 6-42, Lukas Stewart 1-2, Colton Short 7-52; Russell: Jordan Rowe 1-3, Kanenan Jacobs 1-14 TD, Anderson Haggard 2-28, Jayden Pennington 3-53 TD, Cayden Pennington 1-66 TD, Lane Osborne 1-9.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.