Riverton Parke football ready to take the next step

Fresh off an eight win season and an appearance in the Class A Sectional championship against South Putnam, the Riverton Parke football team is ready to take the next step this season. 

"Looking back on last season we felt like we continued to build on the culture we want to establish as well as the style of play we want to be known for. We want to be known for our physical style of play and running the football," head coach Brad Sanders told The Parke County Post. 

The Panthers will look to contend for the Wabash River Conference title this season, according to Sanders, who is in his ninth season at the helm. In order to do so, they will compete against the likes of South Vermillion, North Vermillion, Attica, Parke Heritage, Seeger, Covington, and Fountain Central. 

A season ago, Riverton Parke came up just short. 

"Our goals were to compete for a WRC Championship and we missed out on that goal losing to South Vermillion and North Vermillion in the regular season. Our three losses in the regular season all were to ranked opponents so we felt pretty good about what we accomplished but know we missed out on the opportunity," Sanders said. 

In addition, the veteran coach hopes his team can get back to the sectional title game this year after losing to South Putnam, 44-6 last year. 

"Another goal was to get to a sectional championship which we did. We faced a tough South Putnam team that was just better then us. The motivation from that loss and being so close to a WRC Championship has led us into the off-season," Sanders said. 

In order to get ready for the upcoming season, the Panthers embarked on a strong offseason which saw them increase their strength.  

"Our off-season has been great. We use the winter months to focus on increasing strength. We have gotten a lot stronger and have some kids putting up impressive numbers. Our all time record board has been shaken up this past winter. Summer we focus more on conditioning. Our focus as coaches is to condition and practice harder than we play. We want to be physically and mentally tougher than any opponent we face," Sanders acknowledged.

The roster will see a bit of a shakeup this season as backs AJ Goff and Kyle Price are gone. 

"We have heard the chatter that we will not be as good without them and our backfield has a chip on its shoulder heading into this season. If we have depth anywhere it is in the running back position. Junior Jett Lesniak had a huge game for us in our win over North Vermillion in the sectionals. Senior Sean Vester was second in the state in return yardage last season.Junior Derek Collom was a WRC player last season and will be a three year starter at fullback," Sanders said. 

Collett Sanders, an all-conference selection last year, returns under center. Other notable backs Junior Brody McConnell, Junior Noah Pope, Junior Remington Malone and Sophomore Victor Shoopman all return. 

"Offensively, it all starts up front for us," Sanders said. 

Up front, the Panthers have senior left tackle Kolton Lanzon, who is 6-foot-3-inches, 330 pounds, junior left guard Lane Griffin, who is 6-foot-3-inches and 275 pounds, senor center Max Garman, who is 6 foot, 175 pounds, junior right guard Zeke Golay, who is 6-foot-2-inches and 270 pounds, and junior Joel Harrah, who is 6-foot-3-inches and 270 pounds. In addition, sophomores Bryer Oldham and Parker Britton are both in the mix up front. 

"We are extremely excited about the upcoming season as a program. This group of players have worked towards this season since they were 1st and 2nd graders. Our players have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. We have never won a WRC Championship and only one sectional championship in school history. We start WRC play week 3 against Fountain Central and know alot of people are picking them to win the WRC. We also know that to win the sectional we will have to once again try and get past South Putnam. We are looking forward to the challenge," Sanders said.