As always, Southridge football has high expectations. But who will start at running back?
HUNTINGBURG, Ind. — Scott Buening watched on as his assistants explained new formations to his team while a few stragglers from a recent kids camp stayed late to observe the older boys they hope to emulate one day.
The Raiders are, again, among the Pocket Athletic Conference Small School Division favorites. Competing for titles has become the norm under Buening’s bright and watchful eyes. And thus he looked on, wearing a black Southridge polo shirt with a matching whistle, watch on his left wrist and Adidas shorts. His white shoes, their soles darkened by turf pellets, were the only part of his outfit preventing a blackout.
“There are certain things we can control and there’s a lot of things we can’t control,” Buening said. “We’ve got a lot of really good programs in this area and a lot of good teams this year and a lot of talented kids. It’s gonna be a grind as it always is in this area, but we love that challenge.”
There are, as always, some questions heading into the briskness of fall. The Raiders’ biggest comes in the backfield. Former starting running back Reid Schroeder graduated and has since joined the U.S. Military Academy wrestling team, leaving a void in the backfield behind returning quarterback Hudson Allen.
High school football: 5 things to know about the 2023 season in SW Indiana
“Obviously you never want to lose somebody like Reid. I mean, he’s a stud,” Allen said. “But we have guys that were behind him that were in the weight room every day, grinding out here every day. I think they won’t be replacements, they’ll just continue where he left off.”
“Really everything is to be determined right now,” Buening said. “We’re giving kids opportunities. … We want to give them a chance to earn their roles and we want to see what they’re good at.”
The hole will be filled by one of three contestants: O’Ryan Curry, Gage Werner or Rolan Whitehead. The trio has learned from each other and the different aspects of their respective play styles — Werner’s eye-focused run game or Whitehead’s “spunk” and “athleticism,” as Curry described it, or Curry’s cuts and ability to do the little things to precision.
“(It gives us) some diversity, for sure,” Curry said. “Having three different people with three different skill sets is always good.”
“Coach always says, ‘The more people that can play, the better,’” Werner said. Curry added “true that” with Whitehead saying “agree.”
Whitehead enters his first varsity season while Curry and Werner have previous experience. Whitehead said he felt getting varsity reps and learning under the other two, as well as Shroeder, helped him develop as he and the others compete for the starting job.
“The intensity of varsity is different from JV, so I’m trying to get used to that right now,” Whitehead said. “Learning how hard they go at practice is just really how the varsity players do it, so I’m trying to mimic them.”
High school football: 75 players to watch across SW Indiana in 2023
Even despite not yet knowing who will earn the starting spot and succeed Schroeder from those three, Southridge enters the season among the favorites for the conference title. That’s a testament to the program built over the past 11 seasons; the team those stragglers from kids camp dream of suiting up for; the Raiders that finished first a year ago.
“Coach always tells us, ‘Don’t worry about what the people say or the expectations that are put out there,” Curry said. “We all think that we’re going to go great places, go far and I think that’s all that matters: Earn our way into the titles and labels.”
Southridge Raiders
Last year: 11-2 (5-0 Pocket Athletic Conference Small School Division)
Coach: Scott Buening (96-30 in 11th year at the school, 108-58 in 15th year overall)
Players to watch
Hudson Allen (QB, SS, Sr.), O'Ryan Curry (RB, MLB, Sr.), Gage Werner (RB, MLB, Sr.), Rolan Whitehead (FB, SS, Jr.), Yamil Arroyo (OLB, Sr.), Carter Harris (OLB, TE, Sr.), Blake Taylor (G, OLB, Jr.)
The Raiders' three biggest games
Aug. 25 vs. Boonville: The Pioneers upset then-unbeaten Reitz in the sectional last season and should prove a tough matchup for Southridge in Week 2. The teams have not played since 2021 when the Raiders won 13-0.
Sept. 15 at Gibson Southern: Always an intriguing matchup, though Southridge has a two-game losing streak against the Titans. Going to Fort Branch will be no easy task.
Oct. 6 at North Posey: This matchup has been the decider in the PAC Small School Division in recent years. The Raiders beat the Vikings 49-0 in Huntingburg last season but lost in Poseyville the year prior.
Previously: North | Tecumseh | Jasper | Harrison | Boonville | Mater Dei | Heritage Hills | Bosse | North Posey | Vincennes Lincoln
Next: Memorial
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Southridge football: Raiders looking at three potential running backs
