When the Russellville Panthers and Logan County Cougars kick the football off in their first games that count in the 2026 season Friday night, fans will see the same four teams (Russellville, Hart County, Daviess County and host Logan County) at Cougar Field in the fourth annual Lewisburg Bank Bowl. Regulars Chris McGinnis, Lucas Celsor, Zack Woodall and Austin Pogue will broadcast the doubleheader on WRUS, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The opponents will be different from 2025. Last year, Daviess County beat the Panthers 49-6 in the opener, and the Cougars started their 10-3 season with a 19-15 victory over Hart County. Now they’ve swapped.
This year, the Panthers, who finished 5-6, will take on Hart County, 9-3 last year, at 5:30. The Cougars will play Hart County, which recorded a 5-6 record a year ago.
The four teams play in four different classes, based on their school’s size. Daviess County is 6A, Logan 4A, Hart 3A, and RHS 1A.
Even though most factors remain the same, there are some significant differences in 2026. One involves a coach and the other is new quarterbacks for both local teams.
Russellville, which is entering its 92nd year of playing high school football, rarely changes head football coaches. In the 50 autumns from 1978-2025, the Panthers had only four head coaches. It’s now five in 51.
Mikey Benton had been the head coach the past eight years. The first RHS alumnus and first African American head Panther coach, he was a former RHS and University of Kentucky starting cornerback. One of his Panther teams—stocked with a strong class of fifth-year seniors during the COVID era—reached the state championship game. Recent teams have been starting 0-5 and then winning their 1A district. He has moved on to Franklin-Simpson where he is defensive coordinator.
The new RHS head coach is William Gfriffin, a veteran coach of football-playing schools the size of Russellville. For several years he has been a key assistant at Class 1A power Campbellsville, He has hit the ground running.
Todd Adler, a former Cougar football star, is in his familiar role on the Cougar sideline. He is already the winningest coach in school football history. When he took over the team, it was drudging through a multi-season losing streak. Now every season begins with Logan having realistic goals of double-figure wins and a berth in the Class 4A state semifinals or higher. The current team has those same hopes and is ranked eighth in 4A in the preseason.
One key thing missing, however, is the guy who was expected to be at quarterback again this year. As a sophomore last year, Rogers passed for 2,433 yards and 24 touchdowns. Two weeks ago in a scrimmage game, he suffered a cracked bone at the top of his throwing arm. Coach Adler said on WRUS’ Coaches’ Corner Tuesday that he is expected to miss four to six weeks, which could have him returning to the lineup near midseason.
In his place tonight will be one of the team’s best athletes, standout senior running back Christian Helle, who was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. The Cougars have more talented running backs than they do quarterbacks, and the decision was made to move one of the team’s best all-around athletes, Helle, to the focal point on the offense at QB. “He’s very capable of handling this move well,” Adler says.
Two of the offensive linemen who will work to make his job easier are Grayson Crocker and Lucas Cross.
The returning leader of the defense is senior linebacker Carson Carlock, who finished 2025 with 127 tackles, including 21.5 tackles for a loss, and almost a third of the team’s total 36 sacks with 11.5.
One of the Cougars’ best athletes, is junior TySean Thomeczek. Whether it’s at receiver on offense or in the secondary on defense, he will be a factor on every play that he’s on the field.
While Helle’s being the starting quarterback for the Cougars comes as a surprise, everyone realized a replacement for talented 2025 senior quarterback Jerius Coleman would be needed. And they should have realized that senior JaCoveon Temple-Dickerson would be a strong possibility. He had a great season last year as a receiver and multi-faceted kicker, but the late legendary Panther coach Ken Barrett taught us 36 years ago the importance of putting your best athlete under center. Transformed linebacker Larry Johnson Jr. led the 1990 Panthers to the state championship. JTD certainly is a good enough athlete to start on a state champion team.
The Panthers will also be without senior Jamarion Gardener, a tough running back for RHS the last three years. He reportedly has transferred to Springfield High School in Tennessee.
The Russellville-Hart County game is starting 30 minutes late, apparently because of bus schedule difficulties in the Munfordville area. So that game will begin at 6. The gates will open at 4:30.