Missed opportunities was the story of the night Friday for the Fort Campbell Falcons, as they fell to the Russellville Panthers 20-6. The game was a defensive struggle for much of the first half Russellville had a couple of threats shut down by the Falcon defense, while the Falcon offense struggled to find traction.
The first quarter ended in a 0-0 tie. Fort Campbell appeared to be changing the field position, when Abdel Howard mishandled a Panther punt, giving the Panthers a chance that they took advantage of, as Edward Barber scored the first of his three touchdowns to give Russellville a 7-0 lead, which is where the two teams stood at the half.
In the second half, the Falcons spent much of their time on Russellville’s side of the field, but could never get the one big break to get points on the board. A fumble return for a score on a punt, was ruled a muff instead, not allowing the Falcons to advance the ball. The Falcons also blocked a Panther punt, recovered it at the 6-yard line, but could not find the end zone.
On the night, the Falcons came up with four turnovers, blocked a punt, blocked an extra point, but still did not find the end zone until three seconds to go, when Denoris Buchanan score, and even then there was bad news, as Buchanan was injured on the play.
Meanwhile, Barber scored twice more in the second half for the Panthers, part of a big night for him, as he carried the ball 23 times for 160 yards and the 3 TD’s. Russellville racked up 399 yards of total offense, while the Falcons only managed 150.
Both teams now stand at 1-1 on the season. Fort Campbell is back on the road next Friday as they travel to take on the Glasgow Scotties.