Smiths Station enjoys homecoming win over Russell County

SMITHS, STATION, Ala. -- It may have taken a little while longer than head coach Jason Dukes would have liked, but eventually the points went up on the board and the Smiths Station faithful got to enjoy the Homecoming activities as the Panthers routed Russell County 42-7 Friday night at Panther Stadium.

With the showdown with Central just a week away, Smiths Station was able to focus in on the winless Russell County, who dropped to 0-5 after the loss. The Panthers are now 5-1.

"I thought we played very well tonight," commented Dukes. "We executed on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball in a big rivalry game, not to mention that it was Homecoming and what that means to this community."

After winning the coin toss and deciding to take the opening kickoff, Smiths Station put together a nine play 76-yard touchdown drive to go in front 7-0. The Warriors saw a heavy dose of K.J. Johnson during the drive as the running back had five carries accumulating 40 yards. The senior capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

The next three drives each ended in either a punt or a turnover on downs as the first quarter ended in a close 7-0 score.

However, the Panthers quickly changed that, scoring three touchdowns over the next 12 minutes to take a 28-0 lead.

Johnson carried the load again for the Panthers on the next scoring drive. After Smiths Station stopped Russell County on a 4th-and-one, the Panthers kept feeding Johnson the ball. The running back got the call for five more carries picking up 36 yards, including running over a linebacker to get into the end zone to make it 14-0 with 11:03 left until halftime.

Still down just 14-0, Russell County made things interesting on the ensuing drive. With the ball on its own 42, Warrior quarterback Jay Roberts found a streaking Mike Adams down the right sideline. However, Adams fumbled the ball right before crossing the plane and the ball bounced out of the end zone for a Smiths Station touchback.

Taking advantage of the turnover, Dalton Sinquefield tossed a 79-yard pass to Tyson Toliver to put the Panthers on the one. Sinquefield punched it in on a sneak to make it 21-0 a play later.

With time running down in the half, Sinquefield and the Panthers had one last chance to add points, and they succeeded. Thanks to two pass interference calls and a 19-yard toss and catch to Toliver, the Panthers were in the red zone. Two plays later, Sinquefield scrambled away from danger, and scampered 19-yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night.

Coming out of the break, Smiths Station forced a three-and-out and quickly made it 35-0. Sinquefield found his throwing rhythm connecting on three passes, including a nice 22-yard touchdown pass to Austin Taylor on the drive. Sinquefield helped Taylor beat his defender due to a pump fake, giving Taylor the extra step he needed for the big play.

Sinquefield ended the night 8-for-13 with 177 yards from the air and added 51 yards and two touchdowns from the ground.

Johnson ended the night with 92 yards on 13 attempts with two scores of his own.

Both teams added touchdowns in a sloppy fourth quarter with Russell County getting its score on a 43-yard catch from Corey Person.

Dukes knows his team is in for a tough challenge next week.

"Central is a big, strong and an athletic team," added Dukes. "They are really well coached and are favored to win the state title for a reason, but as a competitor you want to face the best and that is what our guys are up against next week."Friday at Panther StadiumRussell 0 0 0 7--7

Smiths 7 21 7 7--42First Quarter

SS--K.J. Johnson 4 run (Harrison Jones kick), 8:43Second QuarterSS--Johnson 6 run (Jones kick), 11:03

SS--Tyson Toliver 79 pass from Dalton Sinquefield (Jones kick), 7:56

SS--Sinquefield 19 run (Jones kick), 0:04Third QuarterSS--Austin Taylor 22 pass from Sinquefield (Jones kick), 7:13Fourth QuarterSS--Peter Parrish 2 run (Jones kick), 6:17

RC--Corey Person 43 pass from Jay Roberts (Christian Sodo kick), 2:09

Team records: Russell County 0-5. Smiths Station 5-1. Next: Russell County, home vs. Carver-Montgomery, Oct. 2, 8 p.m. Smiths Station, at Central, Oct. 2, 8 p.m.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Smiths Station enjoys homecoming win over Russell County ."