RUSSELLVILLE - With Friday night's 63-16 loss against Slater, Russellville's first regular season at the varsity level is in the books.
It was a regular season of growth and plenty of growing pains. That is not a surprise because many first-year programs struggle to establish themselves, especially against programs that have been around a lot longer.
The 0-7 record - two games were canceled for varying reasons - is merely a humble beginning.
Since the first game against Missouri Military Academy, this team has shown tremendous growth on offense. After scoring 20 points in their first three games, they scored more than that in three out of the next five. The only two games they didn't were against Hogan Prep and Friday's game against Slater.
This season, Chris Seaver emerged as the No. 1 running back for Russellville. He rushed for 645 yards and scored eight touchdowns in only seven games. Sophomore quarterback Jesse Daniel got better as the season progressed, establishing himself as a very capable passer for the Indians going forward.
Defensively, there is work to be done. Russellville allowed more than 40 points in all but one game, a 12-8 loss against Grandview: Hillsboro.
Now the attention turns to the postseason. Russellville, the No. 6 seed in Class 1 District 3, will play third-seeded Tipton (3-6), a matchup that was scheduled for Week 2 but was canceled because of a shortage of available players.
"We'll be having a normal practice week but we're looking forward to it," Russellville coach Roger VanDeZande said.