Two dominant backs in Sean Vester and Lane Simmons are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Riverton Parke Panthers will be playing at home against the North Central Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Riverton Parke comes in on ten and North Central on five.
Riverton Parke is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 46-6 victory over North Vermillion. Fans of the Panthers have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Chase Bennett
| 10/24/25 @ North Vermillion | 54 |
| 10/03/25 vs Attica | 6 |
| 10/04/24 @ Attica | 5 |
| 09/06/24 vs Fountain Central | 1 |
Riverton Parke's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chase Bennett, who rushed for 54 yards and three touchdowns. Those 54 rushing yards gave Bennett a new career-high. Vickter Shoopman was another key back, rushing for 130 yards on only eight carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Riverton Parke was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 528 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 203 rushing yards in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Riverton Parke's defense and their ten sacks. North Vermillion's QB won't forget Josh Ushman anytime soon given he sacked him 4.5 times.
Meanwhile, North Central's game on Friday was all tied up 12-12 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They had just enough and edged out Covington 28-26.
A big part of North Central's victory came down to the chemistry between Lane Phegley and his top target Sawyer Cox. Phegley rushed for 87 yards while Cox rushed for 133 yards and one TD while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Cox was even better on defense, picking up two sacks, forcing one fumble, and making nine total tackles (4.0 for loss).
North Central's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Riverton Parke, their victory bumped their record up to 10-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Riverton Parke has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 390.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like North Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 217.7 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Riverton Parke against North Central when the teams last played back in October of 2022, as the team secured a 56-22 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Thunderbirds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
