About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oct. 24—RUSSELLVILLE — It was all or nothing for Austin on Friday night, and the Black Bears came away with nothing.
Austin had a chance to seal the Class 5A, Region 7 championship with a win at Russellville but instead fell to the Golden Tigers 45-35.
With the loss the Black Bears fall all the way to the region's fourth seed, which means they will have to travel to take on No. 1 Clay Chalkville in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs in two weeks.
"We still have a lot of football ahead of us," Austin head coach Jeremy Perkins said. "We have a senior night game next week, and then we'll get ready for the playoffs. Our goals don't change just because of the team we're playing."
Coming into Friday's game Austin knew the challenge it faced with Russellville's wing-t offense, an offense not usually run in the higher classifications and one the Black Bears had no experience against.
That challenge proved to be too much as the Golden Tigers rushed for 285 yards, 223 of which came from Tarus Davis, who finished with five touchdowns.
"They controlled the ball. If they needed five yards they for five and a half. If they needed three yards they for three and a half," Perkins said. "Our defense got worn down and they hit some big plays on us."
Austin's offense was almost as explosive during the game. Quarterback Donovan Jarman connected with Alvin Jones on an 89-yard touchdown and with Aidan Davis on a 12-yard score. Davis also ran for three touchdowns.
Despite all the points though, mistakes were killer early as Austin fell behind and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
The Black Bears allowed a kickoff return to the 2-yard line, allowed a fake punt on fourth down, dropped a touchdown pass just before halftime and then had the ensuing field-goal kick blocked.
"Special teams was the difference in the game. We played very poorly on special teams, and they whipped us in that phase of the game," Perkins said.
Jarman finished 13-for-19 passing for 234 yards and two scores. Davis rushed 13 times for 100 yards and three scores and also caught three passes for 27 yards and a score. Alvin Jones caught four passes for 117 yards and a score.
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
Source: Sports
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