Indians Fall to Russell County, 32-29
Wetumpka High School's football team suffered a narrow defeat to Russell County, dropping to 3-1 on the season in a hard-fought contest at the Wetumpka Sports Complex.
WETUMPKA, Ala. -- Wetumpka battled Russell County in a closely contested matchup, ultimately falling 32-29 at the Wetumpka Sports Complex.
Russell County opened the scoring with a touchdown run from Chris Lucas, taking a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. Wetumpka responded creatively, utilizing the Wildcat formation where Karsen Tate found Kaleb Ballard for a touchdown, followed by a successful two-point conversion to lead 8-7.
Ballard was a standout for Wetumpka, finishing with three receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns. The Indians extended their lead to 16-7 when Tate added another touchdown on the ground. Quarterback Charlie Skipper contributed significantly, completing seven of 13 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 47 yards.
Russell County narrowed the gap before halftime with a touchdown pass from Nico Key Jr. to Quinn Lewis, leaving Wetumpka with a 16-13 advantage at the break. The Indians quickly increased their lead in the second half when Skipper connected with Deon Floyd on a screen pass that resulted in a touchdown, making it 23-13.
The Warriors responded with a touchdown pass to Teao Major, followed by a touchdown run from Lucas that gave Russell County a 25-23 lead late in the third quarter. Both defenses tightened as the game progressed, but Russell County managed to extend their lead to 32-23 with another touchdown run from Lucas in the fourth quarter.
Despite losing Skipper to injury, Wetumpka fought back. Tate found Floyd for a crucial first down on fourth down, and later connected with Ballard for a touchdown, closing the gap to 32-29 with less than a minute remaining. However, the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, and Russell County recovered the ensuing kickoff to run out the clock.
Wetumpka finished with 488 yards of offense, split evenly between the air and ground game. The Indians' defense was led by Cooper Wilson and Jordan Bracy, each recording 11 tackles.
Wetumpka (3-1, 1-1) will host Percy Julian on Friday, September 18 for homecoming.