Cloverdale football ready for season

Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 6:00 AM

By Paul Gable

The Clovers will host Riverton Parke to open the 2024 campaign.

Cloverdale football coach Tyler Lotz doesn't need reminding of how last season finished for his Clovers.

Cloverdale finished the 2023 season 2-8 and with a 39-14 loss to Riverton Parke in the sectional opener. The Clovers will host Riverton Parke to open the 2024 campaign.

Despite the record last year, Lotz admits he and his team are "super excited" to have the 2024 season officially underway.

"The summer practices and lifts can seem long sometimes, but the two months definitely fly by. Our summer went really well. We scrimmaged four times this summer and were really pleased with how we competed," Lotz said.

One reason why Lotz feels excited heading into this season is because of the senior class he has this year, which includes athlete Tayt Jackson. Jackson has recently been offered by both DePauw and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

"They're a group of young men who have bought in since day one that we got to Cloverdale. They have committed to the weight room and the culture we're trying to create here at Cloverdale," Lotz said.

In addition to Jackson, Lotz said he is also expecting big things out of Corey Branigan, Carson Caulkins and Levi Jackson. In addition, he singled out the efforts of Landon Duncan, Jace Gardner, Jacob Compton, Ben Campbell and Jesse Carroll.

"We have several other players that we could mention as guys that have been working extremely hard and getting better every day," Lotz said.

While Cloverdale opens the season at home against Riverton Parke, Lotz admits the focus is solely on the Clovers and nobody else.

"We are definitely excited to play them. Not only are they the first game, but because they ended our year last year. It doesn't take a lot of motivation from our coaches for these guys to want to get them back," Lotz said.