RIVERTON PARKE FB PREVIEW: If Price is right, Hazzard-led Panthers could make noise in WRC

Aug. 17—The last season that Riverton Parke High School's football team finished with an above-.500 record was 2006 when the Panthers went 8-4 under then-coach Hank Lopez.

The last sectional championship won by Riverton Parke was the year before that, when it went 10-3 in 2005, although Lopez's squad lost to Perry Central in the regional.

Fifteen seasons have passed since those two without similar success. One thing different about 2021, however, was that the Panthers were still playing in November for the first time since 2006. On Nov. 5, they lost to powerful Parke Heritage 34-16 in the sectional title game — after winning a pair of sectional matchups — and ended up 4-7.

Sixth-year coach Brad Sanders has several players back from that Riverton Parke team, plus he noted that five of the eight Wabash River Conference teams have first-year head coaches at their schools. So he's cautiously optimistic about the Panthers' chances of posting a winning mark in 2022.

"We kind of came together at the right time in the sectional," Sanders reflected about the last few weeks of 2021. "We beat a real good Covington team [14-12 in the sectional semifinal]."

For the Trojans, that unexpectedly ended their campaign at 8-3 after they had walloped Riverton Parke 52-18 in the regular-season finale.

"We return Derron Hazzard, who is probably one of the best backs in the Wabash Valley," Sanders said of the 6-foot, 180-pound senior who typically lines up as a wing.

"He had over 2,000 yards of total offense last year. There's not much he can't do. He's pretty much set almost every school record we've had offensively in football. . . . We've gained some new faces with move-ins and different things. So our [player] numbers are up to about 41. There's a lot of excitement in our program. I think we're going to have a good season."

Hazzard hopes to continue his football career in college, but he has not committed to a specific one yet.

Among the Panthers' new faces is Austin Burns, a 6-1, 190-pound senior wing back. Sanders said this is Burns' first year of organized football, if you can believe that.

"His mom was concerned about him getting hurt [playing football]," the Panthers' coach explained. "He's a really good athlete. . . . When you see the kid, he's pretty impressive. He's pretty muscular. He's had a good summer and really got a feel for things."

Sanders said senior Michael Fellows (6-1, 170) will start at fullback and sophomore Kyle Price (6-0, 160) will start at quarterback after making his varsity debut there during the sectional last season.

"He's a heckuva player," Sanders promised about Price. "Offensively, everybody knows we run the football. [With Price at QB], we chewed up the clock and had long possessions. Kyle did an outstanding job. . . . He's a quiet kid, but he's a real good leader. He leads by example. He's an extremely hard worker."

And what are Price's primary skills on the field?

"He's a good decision-maker," Sanders assessed. "He stays pretty calm. He doesn't get too high and he doesn't get too low. . . . If you didn't know anything about him, you'd think he was a senior with the poise that he demonstrates."

Besides Hazzard, Riverton Parke's top pass catchers could end up being tight ends Jonathen Dupree (6-3, 185, junior) and Barrett Roberts (6-3, 185, senior). When the Panthers line up in a formation that utilizes a wide receiver, that player is likely to be 5-9, 140-pound senior Jacob Hopton.

Sanders described his offensive line as "fairly new" after he moved around a few players. Now starting are 5-11, 190-pound junior Mason Haltom at center, 5-5, 160-pound senior Landen Livengood and 5-7 junior Cam Fellows (Michael's cousin) at guards and 6-3, 185-pound junior Sebastin Mankin and 5-11, 215-pound junior Eli Pharr at tackles.

Hazzard will handle the punting duties, while Michael Fellows will do the placekicking, although don't be surprised if Riverton Parke goes for 2 a lot after scoring touchdowns.

On defense, Sanders listed the starting tackles as Pharr and Cam Fellows and the ends as Mankin and Michael Fellows. The Panthers' coach mentioned Dupree and 5-5, 140-pound freshman Brayden Griffin as linebackers.

Cornerbacks are Price and Hazzard, while the safeties are Hopton, Burns and 5-10, 135-pound freshman Collett Sanders, the coach's son.

"We have really good depth on our defensive line," coach Sanders summarized. "We probably don't have as much depth with our linebackers. We've got some young kids we still want to get coached up.

"We're extremely happy with where we are and the direction we're going. We're pretty excited."

A 1996 graduate of Riverton Parke, Brad Sanders is particularly fired up about facing Parke Heritage on Oct. 7 because the Wolves' new coach is Dan Rector, a former college teammate of his at Franklin and a 1996 graduate of the old Rockville High School.

"He's a great guy," Sanders said of Rector. "They're a county rival and me and Dan played against each other in high school. I hadn't seen him in over 20 years and it was nice seeing him [last Friday at the Cascade Jamboree]. Dan will do a good job."