By Josh Prewitt for the FCT

The Russellville Golden Tigers started their season opener on the road as they traveled to Howard Chappell Stadium to take on the Deshler Tigers in a Friday night showdown to kick off the regular season for both teams.

It didn’t take the Golden Tigers long as they came out firing on all cylinders.

The first touchdown came with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter when senior running back/wide receiver Deyon Hill took a 22-yard hand off from junior quarterback Payton Nichols all the way to the end-zone, capping off a huge drive for Russellville to start off the game.

The Golden Tigers didn’t let up, scoring on their next possession. Nichols found wide open senior wide receiver Trent Miller breaking away from coverage for a big 32-yard score to put Russellville up 14-0 early with 3:22 left in first quarter.

The tandem to get used to hearing about is Nichols and Miller, who found it easy hooking up for touchdowns as they connected three times for 104 yards that all resulted in touchdowns to lift Russellville to a win.

The Golden Tigers defense played stingy defense for a second straight week. They forced Deshler to go 3 and out several times and didn’t allow them to reach the redzone the entire first half.

“We started off really good, scoring on our first two possessions and playing aggressive defense. I was really proud how we came out and executed our game plan on both sides of ball,” Heaton said. “Tyrone Wilson has had, hands down, two straight weeks of good performances that really impressed me.”

Despite sloppy play in second quarter with flags being thrown often on both teams, Russellville continued to control the game and force Deshler to 3 and outs. The Golden Tigers got a huge special teams play as junior cornerback/wide receiver Colin Garrison took back a late Deshler punt to the house for 38 yards to increase Russellville’s lead to 21-0 with 2:10 left in the first half.

The Golden Tigers went into the half with a comfortable 21-0 lead.

“We had a big first half,” Heaton said. “Besides some sloppy play in the second, we played with a lot of enthusiasm. We returned six players from last year that are seniors now for us, and they played really well. The young players rallied around them in a team effort in tonight’s game.”

Russellville came out in the second half continuing dominate play. They stopped Deshler on their first possession of the half, forcing them to punt. The Golden Tigers kept to their explosive offense with another hook up of Nichols and Miller, who connected on a huge 55-yard bomb to add to the lead, making it 28-0 at the 9:17 mark in the third quarter.

Deshler got in the end zone for the first time in the fourth quarter, getting a big run from junior quarterback Hunter Hill, making the score 35-6 – their extra point was tipped and blocked by several Russellville defenders.

The Golden Tigers answered back quickly with a touchdown of their own by a razzle dazzle monster run from Nichols to put Russellville up 42-6 late in the fourth quarter. Deshler put up another late score for 42-12 final.

“We did the little things our coaches asked us to do, and everything just fell together. Of course we’ve got things to work on, but if we keep up what we’re doing, we will be fine,” Nichols said.

Russellville’s dominating win proved to be the biggest win over Deshler in over 32 years.

The Russellville Golden Tigers (1-0) look to stay on fire as they continue their road stand, traveling to take on J.O. Johnson Friday in a region 8 opener.