RUSSELLVILLE — It was apparent early Friday what strategy Edmonson County would use in its attempt to upset top-seeded Russellville in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

The Wildcats leaned on their offensive line and a heavy dose of running back Zach Vincent to pull off the 35-13 stunner at Rhea Stadium.

“It is unbelievable,” Edmonson County coach Kyle Pierce said. “Our kids have worked extremely hard all year long. It didn’t just happen overnight - it is a year-long process, and we just beat one heck of a football team.”

The victory over the Panthers puts Edmonson County in the regional final for the first time since 1996. The Wildcats will travel Friday to Union County, which defeated Butler County in its second-round matchup.

“They are a good football team,” Pierce said. “I have only seen them one time, but they run everything from power-I to five-wide and they really put pressure on you. Right now we are going celebrate this win and go back at it on Monday.”

Vincent finished with 264 yards on 36 carries and three touchdowns. The Wildcats lost earlier in the season to Russellville, a game in which Vincent went out in the first half with an injury.

He made up for it on Friday.

“It is great to get this far,” Vincent said. “I have been working for four hard years and we deserve every bit of it. The first game against them we didn’t play our best, but tonight we were just craving it and we knew we could beat them, and we came out here and did it.”

Vincent got the Wildcats going on the first play of the game. Edmonson County started on its own 24-yard line and Vincent took the ball 67 yards to the Russellville 6. Vincent capped the drive two plays later with a 6-yard touchdown run.

Vincent ended the Wildcats’ second possession with an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:12 left to play in the first quarter to put Edmonson County on top 14-7.

His third touchdown of the game came with just 1:34 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats started the drive on the Russellville 39, then Vincent unleashed a 28-yard run and scored two plays later on an 8-yard scamper.

Wildcat quarterback Brent Smith came up with the other two scores for Edmonson County. Smith had a 1-yard run with 3:11 left in the half to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead. Smith’s second score came late in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run to give Edmonson County a 28-13 cushion.

“The win is amazing,” Smith said. “It is like a high I have never been on before. I think our defense won this game for us. Zach makes my job easy - I just hand him the ball and I run the other way.”

Russellville’s offense missed on several key opportunities. The Panthers had two first-half turnovers - one came when Russellville had the ball on the Wildcat 5-yard line, threatening to punch in a touchdown and tie the game at 14-14. But Edmonson County recovered a fumble.

Russellville’s defense then stopped the Wildcats, but its offense fumbled on the ensuing possession and Edmonson County eventually scored to go up 21-7.

The Panthers’ offense finished with 268 total yards, but was stopped on a key drive right before halftime. Russellville started with the ball in Edmonson County territory with 3:05 left in the second quarter and drove inside the 10-yard line, but was stopped on four straight plays and came away with no points.

“The defensive guys did a heck of a job holding Russellville to just 13 points,” Pierce said. “There were so many big plays in the game, but when you have those goal-line stops, it allows you to have the field position game back.”

Russellville got its first score on its first possession of game with a 4-yard run from Damian Elam to tie the game at 7-7. The Panthers’ second score came with 41.6 seconds left in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by Craig Matthews.

Edmonson County 14 7 0 14-35

Russellville 7 0 6 0-13

First quarter

ECHS - Zach Vincent 6 run (Leo Gonzales kick), 10:50

RHS - Damian Elam 4 run (Zach Smith kick), 6:10

ECHS - Vincent 8 run (Gonzales kick), 1:12

Second quarter

ECHS - Brent Smith 1 run (Gonzales kick), 3:11

Third quarter

RHS - Craig Matthews 2 run (kick failed), 41.6

Fourth quarter

ECHS - Smith 1 run (Gonzales kick), 4:38

ECHS - Vincent 8 run (Gonzales kick), 1:34