Russellville was among the younger teams in W.Ky. and Scott gets cleared
Russellville was once a name which struck fear into the hearts of opponents. The Panthers just played for a title a few years ago and came away three-points shy of the hardware. Since that trip to Kroger, the Panthers have struggled. Well, they have been mighty young. Now, they have experience returning at key positions and the Storm may well have their hands full playing them this coming Friday Night. This is the final tune-up for the season. Also, the Storm has some big transfer news we will break down for you.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball
Morton’s Gap, KY: Russellville is next up for the preseason docket and this one is the final tuneup before the games begin to count. Russellville played Hoptown (4A, D-1) evenly in its first scrimmage and Central did battle with Murray High which provided useful film from which to learn and improve.
What is likely to be the result of the Russellville scrimmage? Here is a look at the Panthers.
Russellville has some key performers from a season ago returning. Last season was a disaster, but some very capable, young talent got many game-speed reps which will bode well for the program going forward.
QB, Hunter Hallman returns. Hallman is a ’25 guy who passed for 11-yards shy of a grand and tossed in 11-TD passes. Hallman was picked off seven times.
Hallman is not much of a threat to run it. Hallman gained 36-yards all season, last year, and didn’t score a single TD by land.
Jamarion Gardner, as a freshman (’27) in ’23, performed quite well. Gardner gained 524-yards, from scrimmage, and averaged nearly seven (7) yards a carry (6.8). Gardner scored five (5) rushing TDs.
Hallman is a “thrower,” not a ground “goer”
Friday Night Fletch
Gardner is a threat in the throw game. Gardner caught 20-balls a year ago and registered a couple scores receiving.
JaCoveon Temple-Dickerson was the club’s leading receiver from ’23 and, guess what(?); he too was a freshman a season ago (’27). Temple-Dickerson gained 382-yards receiving and caught four (4) receiving TDs.
Noah Stovall returns and was the club’s second leading receiver with 242-yards and 3-TDs. Stovall also lead the team in INTs (2) and housed one of the two for a defensive TD.
Octavius McKeage was the leading scorer in ’23. McKeage scored in all three phases.
McKeage scored four (4)-TDs rushing, three (3) receiving, two (2) “Scoop and Scores,” and one, two-pointer, on special teams for a total of 56-points. That accounted for close to 25% of the team’s total outlay.
McKeage forced a fumble, recovering four (4), while registering 53-tackles with 5-TFLs and a sack to go along with an INT. Basically, McKeage was all over the field.
David Owens, a ’25 TE/DE, and the club’s top defender returns. Owens had 59-tackles, 14-TFLs, 3.5-sacks, one (1) FF, one (1) FR, to go along with his contributions upfront as the OL’s sixth member (TE).
Transfer rumors: Foremost, we are going to review the policy of this particular magazine regarding transfer rumors. We don’t name transfers, nor discuss transfer rumors (with any specificity), before the transfer has been cleared for immediate play by the relevant regulatory authority (KHSAA).
We can say there is a young man who has petitioned the KHSAA to be declared eligible to play for the Storm this coming season. He is enrolled at Central (or so we are told) and he formerly played football for a 5A contender and played it well. We are told this young man was slated to start at his former school by a source of ours who would unquestionably know that information.
The school from which this player has transferred is not standing in the young man’s way. The player’s former school has signed off on the transfer and wish their former player nothing but success in spite of the likelihood he would have started for them this season.
This kid has been described as “beastly” to this reporter and will be entering his junior year. We believe he would greatly aid the Storm’s prospects for success in 3A, District-1 this Fall. We may have more on this in the future; but, right now, the above constitutes our entire comment.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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