Smoky Valley Dominates Russell
The Russell High School football team traveled to Lindsborg on Friday, October 22 for the district finale against Smoky Valley and lost 35-0.
Smoky Valley (5-3, 2-3 Class 3A District 6) running back Trystan Stambaugh scored the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter on a 23-yard run. The two-point conversion was good and the Vikings led 8-0 after one quarter.
Smoky Valley scored three touchdowns in the second period, all inside four minutes to play in the first half. Stambaugh capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 24-yard TD run with 3:30 to play in the half. The two-point conversion was no good. The Vikings forced an interception and a fumble to get the ball back and scored twice more before halftime - a 44-yard touchdown run by running back Justice Autry and a five-yard TD run by quarterback Karson Pihl. One of the two-point conversions was good, the other was not, and the Vikings led 28-0 at the half.
Neither team scored in the third stanza.
Smoky Valley scored one more time with 8:54 remaining in the game on a five-yard touchdown run by running back Kade Blanchat that finished a 13-play, 66-yard drive. The extra-point kick was good and the Vikings cruised to the victory.
Smoky Valley outgained Russell 388 total yards to 93 yards. The Vikings finished with 312 yards on the ground and 76 yards through the air, while Russell totaled 70 yards rushing and 23 yards passing.
Russell (4-4, 2-3 Class 3A District 6) running back Jacob Windholz led with 34 yards rushing on five carries.
Autry led Smoky Valley with 127 yards rushing on 17 carries. Stambaugh totaled 123 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Also, Smoky Valley ran 62 plays compared to Russell's only 27 plays.
Even with Friday's loss, Russell qualifies for the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and only the fifth time in program history. The Broncos will travel to undefeated Riley County (8-0) on Friday, October 29. The Falcons won Class 3A District 5 and the Broncos finished fourth in District 6. The top four teams in each district qualify for the playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 PM and pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 on KRSL AM 990, 98.1 FM and KRSL.com.