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.
First Indiana human case of West Nile found in Allen County
Legendary 'Indiana Rangers' receive Presidential Unit Citation, Sagamore of the Wabash for Vietnam War heroism
Meta to pay up to $419M to Indiana, implement sweeping child-safety reforms on Instagram and Facebook
New storm recovery texting service to connect impacted Hoosiers with disaster resources
Indiana Pork and Indiana Beef donate State Fair food to support flood-ravaged communities
Parke County native enjoys success with latest business endeavor
IDEM reminds residents to sort and safely dispose of flood debris
Gov. Mike Braun orders flags lowered to half-staff in honor of Dolly Parton
Indiana law enforcement to increase impaired driving enforcement ahead of Labor Day
Indiana State Fair "Taste of the Fair" presented by Pepsi announces 2026 winners
Indiana Agriculture and Technology School featured at recent Rockville Rotary meeting
Dwight Ashley joins Rockville Rotary
Greencastle Music Fest is this weekend
Little Italy Festival is right around the corner
Indiana launches emergency program for veterans impacted by historical flooding
