Riverton Parke set to defend WRC title

For two weeks, the Riverton Parke football team has handled the expectations that come with being the top ranked team in Class A, thrashing Linton-Stockton and Tri in impressive fashion.

"I think we are where we thought we would be. We haven't played a game yet with our starting running backs. We feel like when we get those guys back on the field, and our younger kids have done a great job, I think we have room to grow. I am happy we are 2-0 against two good teams, but we have plenty of room for improvement. I'd like for us to be further ahead, but I am pretty greedy," Head Coach Brad Sanders told The Parke County Post. 

Last week, Riverton Parke dismantled Tri, 47-12. In the win, the Panthers amassed over 400 yards on the ground, as Derek Collum rushed for 162 yards and Brody McConnell added 96 yards. Isaac Pope added 70 yards and three touchdowns on the night. 

"We had a missed assignment early on defense that led to a touchdown that I'm still not really happy about. We had a punt that hit the back of the one of their players and the white hat said it was a muffed punt and gave them the ball on a short field. That was a first for me. Early on, it wasn't what we wanted it to be. I don't know if it was the change playing on Saturday or a long bus ride or whatever, but we scored a couple times and came out after the half and put it away. I thought our guys up front set the tone. I was proud of our defense and they averaged a little over two yards a carry. We had a goal to keep their running back under 60 yards, and we missed that, but we did well," Sanders said. 

Now comes the test of maintaining that momentum through Wabash River Conference action, where the Panthers are expected to dominate. 

They will get their first conference test Friday night when they host Fountain Central. The Mustangs enter 0-2 under first year head coach Jacob Earl. 

The Panthers will retire the jersey of Chase Bennett prior to kickoff. Bennett passed away earlier this year in an automobile accident. 

"It will be super emotional. I have had the opportunity to know Chase's dad growing up as kids and Chase and my son were pretty good friends. He truly was a special kid," Sanders said of Bennett.

And, while it will be emotional, Sanders said his team has to make sure it gets focused on the task at hand. 

"I'm glad we are able to do this for Chase and his family, but it is a terrible thing. "I don't know the right thing or wrong thing to say, but we will play a good football game and honor him," the veteran coach said. 

As for Fountain Central, Sanders sees a young, well-coached team. 

"I am a big Jacob Earl fan. He was a great player, and I know he will be a great coach. They have a freshman quarterback who is going to be really good. I think the biggest mismatch for everyone who plays us is our guys up front against theirs. They've got good skilled guys, and Jacob is doing everything right. The biggest point of emphasis for us is we have to prepare the same way, regardless of the opponent. We need to do what we do and do it as well as we can, and continue to worry about us improving," Sanders admitted. 

Sanders knows everyone in the WRC will be gunning for Riverton Parke each week. 

"When we started in August, we started keeping track of how many days we have. Right now, we have under 90 days to get to Thanksgiving weekend, and we are trying to develop the mindset it is one day at a time. We have a big board that has all of our opponents and a little caption under each team and it is a checklist. Week by week that is the focus and after we complete it, we mark a check on there. As I told the kids, I've been in that position a lot as a coach, and we have to be ready for anything, including trick plays and weird formations. I know when I played really good teams as a coach and nobody expected me to win, I would have unorthodox things I would try to cause fits or put my kids in position to be successful. We will see a lot of things we won't see on film and we have to be ready. Fountain Central does a lot of good things," Sanders said.