Wabash River Conference Sectional Thread

[KAllen]

1 hour ago, BillyBettis said:

What a game. Riverton played the best first half of football in their school’s history last night, but ran out of gas in the second. 
 

my few takeaways: 

-Panthers came out in a trips spread look before going back to the devils offense. I’ll assume that was Bradley tipping his hat to me. Noted! 

-I was shocked to see RP come out in cover 0 press man and load up the box. Evidently they did that all year, it paid off in the first half as I feel SP panicked and kept taking shots and not connecting. Ran a few flood concepts but no real “man beaters”.   Their play calling was pretty vanilla, and their best player wasn’t getting the rock enough IMO.

-RP got out of press man in the second half as Sanders and another DB seemed to be playing deep halves cloud cover 2. Opened up the box which let the SP RB have his way with the panthers in the second. 
 

-SP was what looked to be in a 5-2 with both middle backers extremely wide, dang near over the tight ends. Did a great job stopping jet and counter. Panthers seemed to be having success running what I call A gap power, until their last possession in regulation where they ran it 2-3 times and just gut out muscled and turnover on downs by literal inches. 
 

-Once the Panthers turned over on downs, SP had 2 minutes to go 80 yards, this possession was nothing but a flag fest. 5 on SP and 1 on RP. SP running back prob rushed for 75 yards that possession and all were called back.  I’ve never seen so many flags. Multiple holds, multiple unsportsmanlike conducts, etc. 

-If anyone can find out how many flags were thrown I’d say over 20. I said the winner of this game will win the state title, I’m not sure if SP can pull it off being so undisciplined with the flags and having to burn a crucial timeout when they had 13 players on the field, yes 13. 
 

-Lastly, when I arrived to the stadium, the ticket taker must have known me and was not very friendly, she didn’t spit on me which I will say I appreciated, but after getting over my nausea of being in the enemy’s motherland, I continued to feel some sort of evil taking over my consciousness. I looked up and it all made since, Satan himself was there, Coach King. I was greeted with a hug and a few kind words, along with the other dozens of former players and colleagues that made their way to speak to him. It was great to see him. 
 

-If allowed, I’ll give me thoughts on the conference and thoughts on how next year will unfold in my opinion.  

What stop now, let’s hear your thoughts?    

[BillyBettis]

20 minutes ago, KAllen said:

What stop now, let’s hear your thoughts?    

I think there’s usually a new thread following for next year. Anyone else have any thoughts on last nights game. Was a packed house. Ran out of hotdogs before halftime. Not happy. 

[KDumbwitty]

On 11/8/2025 at 10:02 AM, BillyBettis said:

What a game. Riverton played the best first half of football in their school’s history last night, but ran out of gas in the second. 
 

my few takeaways: 

-Panthers came out in a trips spread look before going back to the devils offense. I’ll assume that was Bradley tipping his hat to me. Noted! 

-I was shocked to see RP come out in cover 0 press man and load up the box. Evidently they did that all year, it paid off in the first half as I feel SP panicked and kept taking shots and not connecting. Ran a few flood concepts but no real “man beaters”.   Their play calling was pretty vanilla, and their best player wasn’t getting the rock enough IMO.

-RP got out of press man in the second half as Sanders and another DB seemed to be playing deep halves cloud cover 2. Opened up the box which let the SP RB have his way with the panthers in the second. 
 

-SP was what looked to be in a 5-2 with both middle backers extremely wide, dang near over the tight ends. Did a great job stopping jet and counter. Panthers seemed to be having success running what I call A gap power, until their last possession in regulation where they ran it 2-3 times and just gut out muscled and turnover on downs by literal inches. 
 

-Once the Panthers turned over on downs, SP had 2 minutes to go 80 yards, this possession was nothing but a flag fest. 5 on SP and 1 on RP. SP running back prob rushed for 75 yards that possession and all were called back.  I’ve never seen so many flags. Multiple holds, multiple unsportsmanlike conducts, etc. 

-If anyone can find out how many flags were thrown I’d say over 20. I said the winner of this game will win the state title, I’m not sure if SP can pull it off being so undisciplined with the flags and having to burn a crucial timeout when they had 13 players on the field, yes 13. 
 

-Lastly, when I arrived to the stadium, the ticket taker must have known me and was not very friendly, she didn’t spit on me which I will say I appreciated, but after getting over my nausea of being in the enemy’s motherland, I continued to feel some sort of evil taking over my consciousness. I looked up and it all made since, Satan himself was there, Coach King. I was greeted with a hug and a few kind words, along with the other dozens of former players and colleagues that made their way to speak to him. It was great to see him. 
 

-If allowed, I’ll give me thoughts on the conference and thoughts on how next year will unfold in my opinion.  

I made my way to RP for the game Friday.  Holy cow, that was the most people I've seen at a 1A game.  Two great teams with two totally different styles of play.   The game literally game down to a game of inches on a 4th down run and officials calling for the chains to measure. I believe the play of the game was the kickoff that stalled at the 1 and forced RP to start inside their 10 and ultimately a punt and a short field for SP.   As a fan, you couldn't ask for a better game to watch - two local top 5 teams going into OT.  Ultimately, #23 Benton showed why he was the best player on the field and got the score SP needed to win.   

From what I was told, SP returns most of their skills group next year and RP returns nearly everyone on offense and defense.  Unless SP wins state and moves up, they'll meet again in next year's sectional.   SP bumped their schedule this year to play better teams and was told that RP will play Linton week 1 next year.   That will be their toughest test before they dog walk the WRC for a second consecutive year.  

[superjay]

This was a great game.  Tail of 2 halves and that opening kickoff of 2nd half was big.  South dominated the 3rd quarter.  Being a Tri-West guy, I wanted to go see old school football…no turf, no fences, no BS.  What I saw was 2 small communities going at it for 4 quarters.  RP had the ball for what seemed like forever in the 4th quarter.  Not many places let fans inside the track, but this should be done at all schools.  Congrats to both schools.  Good luck next week and next year.  I expect RP to be solid again.

[ThePrince]

Average season for the WRC. I'd like to think it will be a lot more competitive next year. Front runner for the WRC crown in 2026 will be the Mustangs with the Panthers chasing right behind them. 

[KDumbwitty]

23 hours ago, ThePrince said:

Average season for the WRC. I'd like to think it will be a lot more competitive next year. Front runner for the WRC crown in 2026 will be the Mustangs with the Panthers chasing right behind them. 

I'll take that bet and raise you.....  RP will win the conference again in 2026.  FC will be second, followed by PH and SV, who will both be improved.  

[Donnie Baker]

5 minutes ago, KDumbwitty said:

I'll take that bet and raise you.....  RP will win the conference again in 2026.  FC will be second, followed by PH and SV, who will both be improved.  

Running clock all season?

[KDumbwitty]

9 minutes ago, Donnie Baker said:

Running clock all season?

Hard to tell.  The conference was surprisingly pretty young this year with limited impactful seniors graduating.   Seeger loses the most with Herden and Ragen on offense and defense, plus some lineman.  FC loses Dodson on defense and the majority of their top lineman on offense and defense.   RP loses Sanders and Vester.  The rest of the conference barely played seniors.  5-6 teams SHOULD better, but I believe it will come down to FC and RP next year with RP running the table.   They return 9 starters on a defense that lead 1A in points given up.   Both FC and RP had significant injuries in 2025 - FC lost Foxworthy multiple games and RP lost McConnell and Lesniak nearly all the season.  The Vester kid had 1300 yards rushing and led the conference and was told he was 3rd string to start the year behind those two.  

To answer your question -  probably.  How 2026 plays out will come down to the offseason work and transfers.  I saw more kids in letter jackets Friday night at RP watching the game than I've seen at any HS game.   I can't imagine all of them were there simply to watch a good game.  A couple of them were there to see where they are playing next year and where they fit.  

[ThePrince]

1 hour ago, KDumbwitty said:

To answer your question -  probably.  How 2026 plays out will come down to the offseason work and transfers.  I saw more kids in letter jackets Friday night at RP watching the game than I've seen at any HS game.   I can't imagine all of them were there simply to watch a good game.  A couple of them were there to see where they are playing next year and where they fit.  

Not buying it. The transfer rule isn’t going to impact any of the schools in the WRC in any major way. Everyone was at that game because it was two of the best teams in 1A. And honestly, most people wanted to see a program that’s climbed from the bottom finally win the big one. Transfers had nothing to do with it.

[CoachDean4758]

1 hour ago, ThePrince said:

Not buying it. The transfer rule isn’t going to impact any of the schools in the WRC in any major way. Everyone was at that game because it was two of the best teams in 1A. And honestly, most people wanted to see a program that’s climbed from the bottom finally win the big one. Transfers had nothing to do with it.

If im not mistaken at least two contributors of that RP team were at SV last year. One of which is Lane Griffin who I think is one of the top lineman in the conference.

[Donnie Baker]

8 hours ago, KDumbwitty said:

Hard to tell.  The conference was surprisingly pretty young this year with limited impactful seniors graduating.   Seeger loses the most with Herden and Ragen on offense and defense, plus some lineman.  FC loses Dodson on defense and the majority of their top lineman on offense and defense.   RP loses Sanders and Vester.  The rest of the conference barely played seniors.  5-6 teams SHOULD better, but I believe it will come down to FC and RP next year with RP running the table.   They return 9 starters on a defense that lead 1A in points given up.   Both FC and RP had significant injuries in 2025 - FC lost Foxworthy multiple games and RP lost McConnell and Lesniak nearly all the season.  The Vester kid had 1300 yards rushing and led the conference and was told he was 3rd string to start the year behind those two.  

To answer your question -  probably.  How 2026 plays out will come down to the offseason work and transfers.  I saw more kids in letter jackets Friday night at RP watching the game than I've seen at any HS game.   I can't imagine all of them were there simply to watch a good game.  A couple of them were there to see where they are playing next year and where they fit.  

 

5 hours ago, CoachDean4758 said:

If im not mistaken at least two contributors of that RP team were at SV last year. One of which is Lane Griffin who I think is one of the top lineman in the conference.

 

7 hours ago, ThePrince said:

Not buying it. The transfer rule isn’t going to impact any of the schools in the WRC in any major way. Everyone was at that game because it was two of the best teams in 1A. And honestly, most people wanted to see a program that’s climbed from the bottom finally win the big one. Transfers had nothing to do with it.

Several good points here. I do think most players were there to watch the game, not look for next year’s new team. When Liptons was in 1A tournament games down there they had players from all over the area watching. Some probably will transfer. The right transfer can definitely change a program in 1A football. I also don’t think anyone will close the gap with The Tenderloins next year. It might be wider. They’re bringing back a lot of experience including all but 1 lineman. I’d kinda like to see South Putnams stay down so the Loins can knock them off but I’d rather see them win it all. They’ve been close but run into Lutherans several times and now Providence. Maybe they should pray more 😎. I gotta go 

Edited November 14, 2025 by Donnie Baker

[KAllen]

21 hours ago, CoachDean4758 said:

If im not mistaken at least two contributors of that RP team were at SV last year. One of which is Lane Griffin who I think is one of the top lineman in the conference.

A two way starter (Griffen) and starter at DE (Pope) both were transfers.   Both made all-conference.   

[DoctorShrimpPuertoRico5]

Let’s go ahead and let the coaching search begin. Didn’t expect to hear of Coach Ragan stepping down at Seeger. The second year in a row a coach has left the WRC after posting a 9-2 record 

[KDumbwitty]

13 hours ago, DoctorShrimpPuertoRico5 said:

Let’s go ahead and let the coaching search begin. Didn’t expect to hear of Coach Ragan stepping down at Seeger. The second year in a row a coach has left the WRC after posting a 9-2 record 

I do not know all the details, but they appear to be different situations.  Ragan's son is graduating.  Yes, they are losing some good kids to graduation, but also have some returning, including the starting QB and should compete near the top of the WRC next year.   In the NV situation, Coach Rod found a great opportunity near his home AND NV was losing nearly all of its impact kids.  

[Donnie Baker]

1 hour ago, KDumbwitty said:

I do not know all the details, but they appear to be different situations.  Ragan's son is graduating.  Yes, they are losing some good kids to graduation, but also have some returning, including the starting QB and should compete near the top of the WRC next year.   In the NV situation, Coach Rod found a great opportunity near his home AND NV was losing nearly all of its impact kids.  

North Vermilions wasn’t 9-2 last year 

[justafootballguy]

6 minutes ago, Donnie Baker said:

North Vermilions wasn’t 9-2 last year 

[KDumbwitty]

4 minutes ago, Donnie Baker said:

North Vermilions wasn’t 9-2 last year 

2024/25 season they were with Coach Rod.   He subsequently left after that season.    Similar to Ragan that resigned after a 9-2 season.   

[1st_and_10]

1 hour ago, KDumbwitty said:

In the NV situation, Coach Rod found a great opportunity near his home AND NV was losing nearly all of its impact kids. 

I assure you Coach Rod leaving had NOTHING to do with "losing (assume you mean graduating) impact kids"

 

[Donnie Baker]

1 hour ago, KDumbwitty said:

2024/25 season they were with Coach Rod.   He subsequently left after that season.    Similar to Ragan that resigned after a 9-2 season.   

Whoops 

[Donnie Baker]

1 hour ago, KDumbwitty said:

2024/25 season they were with Coach Rod.   He subsequently left after that season.    Similar to Ragan that resigned after a 9-2 season.   

Apparently he went to WeBos?

[KAllen]

33 minutes ago, Donnie Baker said:

Apparently he went to WeBos?

Yes. DC at Webo 

[Donnie Baker]

20 minutes ago, KAllen said:

Yes. DC at Webo 

I could tell by his defense team’s responses on here 

[1st_and_10]

15 hours ago, Donnie Baker said:

I could tell by his defense team’s responses on here 

Just refuting info that is inaccurate that's all.  

[Donnie Baker]

1 hour ago, 1st_and_10 said:

Just refuting info that is inaccurate that's all.  

No worries. 

[BillyBettis]

20 hours ago, 1st_and_10 said:

I assure you Coach Rod leaving had NOTHING to do with "losing (assume you mean graduating) impact kids"

 

Sure it did, why would he want to coach a team he knew would be pretty bad with no junior high or youth talent coming? Nobody said he was a dirtball, but don’t assume a bad future didn’t play into him changing positions. That’s ignorant.