The Russellville Indians wanted to add the brick of a first varsity win to their football foundation this season.
That was one quick brick.
Russellville dominated Missouri Military Academy in their first clash of the season, rolling to a 40-6 victory in Mexico Aug. 27 to start its second varsity season.
"Just super excited for the guys and the community," Russellville coach Tim Rulo, in his first year with the Indians, said.
It was the 100th win of Rulo's coaching career.
Russellville dominated from the start, leading 14-6 after one quarter before taking a 27-6 lead into halftime.
Rulo said he talked to a couple of players on their walk back to the locker room at the half.
"They told me they've only been winning one other time in a varsity game," Rulo said. "I told them we need to make sure we stay steady. We had to calm them down and get re-focused."
Rulo warned his team to be prepared for a surge by M.M.A. to start the second half.
"We got a stop to start the third quarter and then we went down and scored, I felt pretty good then," Rulo said.
The Indians totaled 13 points in that third quarter to make it 40-6.
"It kind of hit me around the end of the third quarter we were going to win," Rulo said.
There was one last football tradition to complete. Russellville had never done a postgame handshake at the 50-yard line because it wasn't allowed last season due to COVID-19 protocols.
"Then we went to celebrate together after we were done," Rulo said.
The players were excited, but Rulo also noted they were relieved.
"They thought, 'Holy cow, we finally did this,'" Rulo said. "But it was also a sense of relief because it finally happened."
The win brought a level of excitement to the hallways at school last week.
"It's nice for people to be excited and congratulatory," Rulo said. "I don't know if we give athletes enough credit for what it's like to be an athlete in a school when you're not winning. People aren't always nice. And for our guys to be hearing nice things from teachers and faculty and other students goes a long way. It's great they get to experience that."
Alex Oligschlaeger, a junior, had six carries for a team-high 78 yards and a touchdown in the win. He also caught three passes for 81 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, Oligschlaeger finished with four tackles.
"He played every snap on defense and still had a great offensive game," Rulo said.
Jesse Daniel, the Russellville quarterback, and running back Chris Seaver also scored for the Indians.
Bryce Hale, an offensive and defensive lineman, had a good game on both sides of the ball. On defense, he led the team with 15 total tackles, including two for loss.
"He did a phenomenal job, playing with a high motor and making a lot of plays," Rulo said. "He never came off the field."
Russellville will have to wait to try to add win No. 2 to the season after last Friday's home game against Tipton was called off due to COVID-19 concerns with the Cardinals.
After hearing rumors last Tuesday the game might be called off, it was officially canceled the following day.
"The players were disappointed," Rulo said. "They're a local school and the boys know those players at Tipton."
It's the second straight season the Russellville-Tipton game was called off after the Indians had COVID-19 concerns last year.
Rulo wasn't worried about losing a game off the schedule.
"The bigger concern is Tipton," he said. "We can maybe find a game or we'll be ready to play next week. For them, this has the potential to hurt their season for maybe more than this week. That's not good for the kids, you don't want that."
The Indians planned to hold a practice and a team social last week in place of a game.
Russellville is scheduled to travel to Sweet Springs Friday for its next contest.
"That will be a salty game," Rulo said.