[EKUAlum05]

Here is my hopes for the rest of the season.

The Russell fans are spoiled. Instead of complaining here is a positive post that you would see from almost every other school in the state if they had our record.

Russell is 6-2 and a contender in 3A. The only losses came to a very good 5A team in a rivalry game. The other loss was to a good 6A that is battle tested and plays against a very good team every week in Northern KY.

Drew Abrams needs only 51 yards to go over 1000 yards for the season.

Russell is undefeated in district play and plays for the district championship this Friday.




I think this should give any group of fans something to cheer for.

No 3A team has definitively proven that they are in a class of their own thusfr this year. Across the board it seems to be a year of great parity and Russell has just as good of a shot as anyone at this point. A win over Mason County makes as strong of a case that Russell will contend for the title as any other win a 3A team has had.

In terms of defense, the agrressive, disruptive defense is a double edged sword when talking about Belfry. When the Josh Wills led defense shut Belfry out they typically hit the RB before the ball got handed off... Belfry had no chance in that game except to pass the football. Conversely, just like you pointed out with Breathitt,,, if you don't have the strength, conditioning, and tackling ability.. then Belfry might hang 60 on you.

The one defense which will never work against Belfry is to simply wait for the play to come to the defense. Belfry's line will ultimately create a 2-3 yard surge and Belfry's backs are good enough to gain an extra couple yards a play on top of that. If Belfry gains 4-5 yards a carry then haywood will have a big smile on his face because he will take drives like that all night.

I personally think Russell has everything needed to disrupt Belfry's backfield, but they will DEFINATELY have to improve tackling. The one thing you never would want to see is Ivan Lee at full speed in the secondary.