Coach Bill Sharp's Russell County Lakers finished the regular season with a .500 record after whipping host Adair County, 40-22, Friday night in Columbia.

The Lakers (5-5, 1-3 in district play) started slow, turning the ball over on their first possession but went on to score on their next five. The pesky Indians failed to roll over in the first half and the game was tied at halftime.

In the second half, Russell County came out determined and rolled over the longtime rivals.

The Lakers were led by junior tailback Jeron Hammond who had 161 yards rushing and three scores.

Junior fullback Nathan Irvin tallied 161 yards rushing on eight attempts and a score while freshman tailback Nick Britt rushed for 91 yards on 10 attempts and a score. Russell County accumulated more than 500 yards of total offense on the night.

Junior wideout Taylor Hutchison scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Martin Cross and ended the night with three catches for 74 yards.

Cross passed for 108 yards and a score in the game.

Senior tight end Austin Hill, who also led the team in solo tackles with three, and Irvin also caught passes of 12 and 22 yards, respectively. Laker Jamison Meece assisted on 14 tackles.

The Lakers will be traveling to Paducah this Friday night for the first round of 4A state football playoffs as they take on the undefeated Lone Oak Purple Flash. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. central time.

Admission to the game is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Lone Oak finished their perfect regular season by defeating rival Heath 34-0 last Saturday afternoon.

The 10-0 Purple Flash got three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Cameron Looper, who passed for 182 yards to go over 2,000 yards through the air on the season. Looper also had 12 rushes for 78 yards in the victory.

Lone Oak led 14-0 at halftime and completed its third straight shutout in the win.