2009 Russell

[Ram]

What does Russell need to do to improve in 2009? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

[sidelinedoc]

I guess I just was always under the impression Russell didn't rebuild, they reloaded. I hear they are supposedly down this year, but I just don't believe it. I would love to hear from the Russell posters to validate or refute my opine.

[oldrambler]

^ I agree doc, Russell is Russell. They have a fine tradition with State Titles behind them along with countless district and region titles. Russell may be down only to what some of the Russell faithful expectations are but Russell is a good football team and will be there in playoff time as they are in every season. That you can bank on.

[PureFan]

Best of wishes to Russell and their fans, except when playing Greenup, of course!

[ryanparker]

The most glaring need I see for Russell this year is size on the line. They have some very good skill position players returning, but without a few brutes on the line things could get difficult. Replacing Drew Miller, Mike Dillon, Drew Abrams, and even Storm Burgess will be their most difficult task as they lose a lot of strength in those guys. I would expect this year's team to have very good senior leadership, though, in 3 year senior starters Will Rice and Kamron Smith.

 

On offense, I would expect Rice to get to the bulk of the carries with other guys like Travis Jones and Jesse White running the ball as well. Max Rogers should be the primary receiver when they go to the air. The quarterback should be either Brandon Sparks or sophomore Logan Dehoff. Russell actually has a few sophomores that will contribute this year.

 

I think Russell's best chances of being good this year, though, rest primarily on their defense. Rice and Smith have been terrific linebackers for Russell for the past 2 years. Steven Stapleton came on strong last year as a 3rd linebacker. I even think the secondary will be strong as they have some athletic, fast players taking the place of the graduating seniors. I think Russell will have the speed to match every team on their schedule. My main concern is the teams that will line up and run it right between the tackles. This could wear this undersized team down somewhat.

 

Another loss is the kicker Jason Dolly. He did a great job on kicks, kickoffs, and even punts some last year. Finding suitable replacements here will be important.

 

With all that being said, here's a preliminary guess at how I see their games going:

 

East Carter (H) - Russell has enough skilled players returning in their system to win the opener at home.

 

Greenup County (H) - This will be interesting since Greenup has a new coach this year. I think Russell should have a good shot of winning, though, based on the fact that they have a bunch of skilled players who have been in their system for a long time and it would surprise me if Greenup matches their execution in the first or second game of a new regime.

 

Ironton, Ohio (A) - Now this one looks to be tough! :-)

 

Ashland (H) - It's always good to have Ashland at home, but I think Ashland is easily the best team in our area this year on this side of the river.

 

Boyd County (A) - It has been difficult for Russell to win at Boyd County when they had the far superior team. This will be a hard fought win.

 

West Carter (A) - I would anticipate a win here.

 

Fleming County (H) - Russell picks up Fleming County in their district again this year. I don't really know what they have this year...so who knows?

 

Mason County (A) - It's going to be tough for Russell to win their district this year because Mason County has some good young players and a program headed in the right direction under an excellent coach.

 

Lewis County (H) - Russell should win this one.

 

Raceland (A) - This should again be a fun atmosphere and a good game. I think the overall talent level on the field for both teams will be down as compared to the last 2 years, but I think both teams drop off about the same this year...so the game will be close.

[sidelinedoc]

Ryan, do you realize Raceland and Russell have 5 common opponents plus playing each other? Also, we are scrimmaging West Carter at home in our grid on August 15th.

[ryanparker]

Ryan, do you realize Raceland and Russell have 5 common opponents plus playing each other? Also, we are scrimmaging West Carter at home in our grid on August 15th.

 

At least the game film and scouting reports will be easy to obtain! I really think that Raceland, Russell, Greenup County, Fairview, Boyd County, and Ashland should all play each other every year if possible. It's good to have these types of games.

[sidelinedoc]

Ashland plays: Boyd, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Russell plays: Ashland, Boyd, Greenup and Raceland

 

Boyd plays: Ashland, Fairview, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Fairview plays: Boyd, Raceland

 

Raceland: Ashland, Boyd, Fairview, Greenup and Russell

 

Greenup plays: Ashland, Boyd, Raceland and Russell

[Ram]

Ashland plays: Boyd, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Russell plays: Ashland, Boyd, Greenup and Raceland

 

Boyd plays: Ashland, Fairview, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Fairview plays: Boyd, Raceland

 

Raceland: Ashland, Boyd, Fairview, Greenup and Russell

 

Greenup plays: Ashland, Boyd, Raceland and Russell

 

Greenbo Championship.:taz:

[mcpapa]

Is Steven Stapleton the same Stapleton that plays basketball for Russell?

[rfcinky]

Is Steven Stapleton the same Stapleton that plays basketball for Russell?

 

No. The basketball player is Casey Stapleton

[mcpapa]

^Thanks.

[kystraydog]

Its always hard for Russell to click like they should. Either they have a big line with weaker backs or strong backs and a weaker line. As we all know great teams have both such as Russell state teams and Racelands team last year. I think Will Rice should have a great year on both sides of the ball. I don't see alot of line size but most Russell guards don't need it. Where it will be missed is on the defensive side.

[CatsCatsCats]

Don't know much about what they have coming back, but I will predict that Russell will field a pretty good team. Great coaches, great tradition, great community, they are just winners. A down season for them would be a pretty nice season at most schools. Best of luck to Russell, and all area teams this upcoming season.

[oldrambler]

Ashland plays: Boyd, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Russell plays: Ashland, Boyd, Greenup and Raceland

 

Boyd plays: Ashland, Fairview, Greenup, Raceland and Russell

 

Fairview plays: Boyd, Raceland

 

Raceland: Ashland, Boyd, Fairview, Greenup and Russell

 

Greenup plays: Ashland, Boyd, Raceland and Russell

 

Sounds like a decent conference to me :thumb:. We had a thread on a "mythical" conference here on BGP a while back. Looking at this list, with everyone except Fairview with several common opponets this could be the start of another one.