By Jonathan L. Smith
(Photo courtesy of SERG Photography shows Brycen Mullins on one of his long kick returns)
We are down to the last two regular season games left on the schedule: Russell County on the road this week, with a home playoff game on the line, and Garrard County at home in two weeks in the season finale.
Realistically speaking, even if Lincoln County loses at Russell County, they would most likely win the RPI three-team tiebreaker, but if they beat Russell, then the tiebreaker never comes into play. Speaking of “RPI”, it stands for the KHSAA Ratings Percentage Index which calculates a formula that takes into account a team’s wins and losses, its opponents’ wins and losses, and its opponents’ opponents’ wins and losses. The RPI standings are not final until the last regular season games are concluded so it is hard to guess all the scenarios that change those.
The current Class 4A, District 7 standings and RPI are:
Boyle County 2-0 (.78898)
Lincoln County 1-1 (.67976)
Wayne County 1-1 (.49264)
Russell County 0-2 (.49634)
Series Record
This will be the 8th game in the 45-year history of the series between Lincoln County and Russell County, and the Patriots have a one-win lead during that time (4-3). The programs played five straight years in the early 1980s and then resumed the series when placed in the same 4A district for the 2023 season.
First Game 1980 (Lincoln won 19-6)
Last Game 2024 (Russell won 32-30)
Lincoln County Wins 4 (1980, 1981, 1982, 2023)
Russell County Wins 3 (1983, 1984, 2024)
Lincoln’s largest margin of victory (20 points, 1982)
Russell’s largest margin of victory (13 points, 1983)
Closest game (1 point Russell 2-OT win 28-27 in 1984)
Last year’s game was a doozy with Russell County winning by two points at Death Valley. The Patriots scored on a Tucker Foster one-yard run with no time left and then missed a two-point conversion to tie it up.
Matchup
Russell County is coached by second-year head coach Steven French, who is no stranger to Lincoln football. Steven is the son of Larry French, who coached the Patriots from 2004-2007, and Steven was on his dad’s staff here. They finished 5-6 last season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Corbin (48-13).
This season, they are 3-5 with wins over Adair County, Larue County, and Clay County. They have lost to Campbellsville, Taylor County, Green County, Boyle County, and Wayne County.
On offense, the Lakers are pretty balanced when it comes to yardage. They rush, on average, for 158 yards per game and pass for 125 yards. Their top runner is Tanner Stringer who has carried the ball 151 times for 921 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is also the quarterback and has completed 57 of 96 passes for 947 yards, 8 TDs, and 4 INTs.
His top receiver is Kinnett Wills who has caught 29 passes for 592 yards and 7 touchdowns. Christian Williams is their second most productive rusher and receiver. He has 48 carries for 244 yards and has hauled in 10 passes for 106 yards.
Defensively, they are led by Jordan Beck with 75 tackles, Kinnett Wills with 51, and Tanner Stringer with 47. As one can see by the repeated names, they are similar to Lincoln County in the way that some of their players are key two-way starters.
They are giving up 36 points per game, 201yards rushing, and 115 yards passing, while Lincoln County is averaging 28, 192, and 131 in those respective categories. This seems like a favorable matchup for Lincoln County
In comparing common opponents, there are only two and those are the other district teams, Boyle County and Wayne County.
Against Boyle County, Russell County lost 43-0 while Lincoln County lost 48-7. Russell County was much more effective offensively against the Rebels, rushing for 134 yard and passing for another 112 yards. Boyle completely shut down Lincoln’s rushing attack and gave up less than 100 yards total offense.
Against Wayne County, Russell County lost 20-0 but Lincoln County won 33-15. This opponent is probably a better measuring stick than Boyle County. The Rebels dominated both opponents and the stats can be misleading.
Russell County was really shut down against Wayne, with only 36 rushing yards and 57 passing yards, but the Patriots had 251 yards passing and 122 yards rushing against Wayne County.
It should be a good match up this week with two well-coached teams who had a close, intense game last season. Levi Rogers and Steven French know each other very well. Levi was on all four of Larry French’s teams at Lincoln County and was French’s senior quarterback who led the Patriots to the 2007 5A semifinals.
If you go, the GPS address for their stadium is 2166 US-127, Russell Springs, KY 42642.
