RUSSELLVILLE - The Russellville Indians will spend a lot of time on the bus Saturday.
Russellville makes its longest road trip of the year this week when it goes nearly to St. Louis to face Grandview: Hillsboro in Hillsboro, but the Indians will have the benefit of making the trip for a 2 p.m. matchup Saturday instead of after a day of school.
Russellville coach Tim Rulo said the extra day has already helped the players in their preparation.
"We took our time and showed them the game film Monday, then went over the gameplan Tuesday," Rulo said. "(Wednesday) was our first day of heavy practice. I think the guys enjoyed the extra day."
The Indians will make the 2.5-hour drive to face a 2-1 Eagles team coming off its first loss of the year, 22-12, against St. Pius X: Festus.
Grandview opened the season with consecutive wins against two winless teams in Principia and Bayless, allowing a combined six points while scoring 77.
"We saw them at a clinic this past offseason," Rulo said. "They've gone full bore into a flexbone they've done a good job with that."
Rulo said he expects quarterback Clayton Riddle, senior running back Eric O'Brien and sophomore fullback Camron Hagen to get most of the work for the Eagles' offense.
"We'll just need to make sure we're willing to stop the run," Rulo said. " We just got to take care of that and continue to get better in that area."
Focus on stopping the run will be key for the Indians, who are coming off a game where they allowed 243 yards rushing to Sweet Springs.
On offense, Rulo said he is hoping for more consistent execution.
"That's kind of what we saw was our Achilles heel from Friday," Rulo said. "When we did execute, we would have a good run or we would be really efficient. But we just didn't do that well enough."
Some of the Indians' issues can still be chalked up to inexperience for the second-year varsity program, but Rulo said the point where the team stops being able to use that as an excuse is quickly approaching.
Russellville's offense will look to improve from its six-point performance in Week 3 as it faces another four-man front.
At 1-1, the Indians currently sit fifth in the Class 1 District 5 standings, while Grandview: Hillsboro is comfortably in second in Class 2 District 2.
Grandview took a 12-8 win in the matchup between the pair nearly a year to the day before Saturday's matchup Sept. 19, 2020, helping build to the Eagles' 5-4 record. It was Grandview's first winning season since 2001.
"We're entering the second phase of the season," Rulo said. "Weeks 4, 5 and 6, this is a stretch where we're gonna play some pretty competitive teams. We just need to keep getting better and, you know, this is a week that's a good opportunity to show some growth.
"These games against good teams are going to continue to make us better. We're just excited about those opportunities."