With an unblemished 11-0 record to its name, things have been magical thus far for the Riverton Parke football team.
However, for coach Brad Sanders and the Panthers, the biggest game of the season is now upon them, as they face South Putnam tonight in the Class A Sectional 45 final.
The game marks the third time in five seasons the Panthers are looking to capture a sectional crown. A season ago, South Putnam picked up a 44-6 win over the Panthers.
"We are happy to be here. We have had a pretty good year. We fought the injury bug throughout the year. We have had a lot of guys step up, and we have had multiple guys over 100 yards rushing. We are a team that doesn't have one standout guy, but we have a lot of guys who believe in what we do and just play hard," Sanders told The Parke County Post.
In 10 games, quarterback Collett Sanders has thrown for 436 yards and eight touchdowns and has added another 190 yards and five scores on the ground. Sean Vester is the key to Riverton Parke's offense, as the senior running back has garnered 1,342 yards and 17 touchdowns. Junior Derek Collum has added 641 yards and 18 touchdowns.
South Putnam has weapons of its own, namely in the form of quarterback Drew Cline and running back Ty Benton.
On the season, Cline has thrown for 1,743 yards and 22 touchdowns, compared to four interceptions. He has also added another 372 yards and seven touchdowns by way of his legs. Benton, a junior, has rushed for 1,942 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Sanders admits his team will face a "really good team" tonight when they line up against the Eagles.
"They are a good team this year. They were a really really good team last year. They lost to Providence, who ended up winning the state. We were hopeful we would get the opportunity to play them again. I know Coach Sorrell pretty well. We were hopeful we would be on different sides of the bracket to get back to this point. They are good. We know what they are. We know we are the underdog. We feel like we are a little better this year than last. We are hoping to get a better game than what we gave them last year," Sanders said.
And, he is hopeful the home crowd will give the Panthers an advantage.
"It is always nice to play at home. Our community support has been great throughout the year. Our field has some irrigation done throughout the year, so it's not in the best shape, especially this time of the year. Hopefully, it'll benefit us," Sanders noted.
Sanders said tonight's game hinges on his team not turning the ball over.
"Both teams have played pretty clean games from what we have seen on film. We have to figure out how to slow them down, and we have to finish our drives," Sanders said.
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