TAYLOR – With the opening of two-a-day, full-contact practices Monday, high school football players were eager to bring the physical part of the game into summer workouts.
Under the guidance of first-year head coach Jim Tucker, Riverside must replace several starters who helped the team to the District 2 Class 2A playoffs in 2025.
One of the more familiar athletes doubles as one of the best.
Brayden Rose, a highly recruited, quarterback/linebacker, is the Vikings’ leader. He stood out during Monday’s morning session at Riverside High School.
“The guys were fired up,” said Rose, an All-Region selection as a junior, who has more than a dozen scholarship offers from NCAA Division I programs. “We got to clacking and hitting. It is always a good feeling to run down the field and hit or get hit.”
Last season, Rose was a Lackawanna Football Conference Division III all-star quarterback and defensive back. He had 803 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and added 489 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Defensively, he played safety and outside linebacker and had 50 total tackles, seven for loss, three sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.
On special teams, Rose contributed four kickoff returns for 296 yards and three touchdowns, and had 137 yards on punt returns with a touchdown.
While Rose will be counted on to make plays all over the field, Riverside will also lean heavily on Charlie Anstett.
The first day of padded practices was much different than last for the running back and linebacker. The stout, powerfully built weightlifter contributed last season as a freshman. He had 539 rushing yards and scored eight touchdowns.
“Last year, I started midway through the year, so I got excellent experience,” Anstett said. “It was a new environment with a lot of responsibility. It was nerve-wracking on the first day as a freshman. There were a lot more bigger guys. We had some great leaders who helped me navigate through it.
Like every team in the LFC, Riverside has to fill vacancies left by graduation. The Vikings, however, have the largest void. Mammoth two-way lineman Tavian Branch is now making his mark at Auburn University.
Exavier Pelton is the most experienced lineman for Riverside. He is a physical athlete at 6 foot 1 and 250 pounds.
“We learned a lot from Tavian, especially with his talent, and that rubbed off on us practicing every day against him,” Pelton said.
Riverside will scrimmage at Wyoming Valley West on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Vikings host Susquehanna on opening night, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
This season, the program will also have a new home in the LFC Division II after playing in Division III.
Montrose looks to change culture
There aren’t a lot in uniforms, but the ones committed to the rebuilding football program are excited about the season.
Twenty-two players were running drills and hustling from station to station Friday, the final day of heat acclimatization.
It’s an enthusiastic group, energized by first-year head coach Brett Stage. He is the Meteors’ 10th head coach since Tom Lucenti resigned following the 2005 season. Lucenti won 110 games over 19 seasons, but the program is 21-131 since 2008, battling shrinking rosters.
“I’ve seen a lot of excitement out of the team,” Montrose sophomore Evan Strohl said. “It’s been hard with the numbers lacking, but everyone’s come out here and put in the work, shown up in the morning. We are bonding great, off the football field, on the football field, and hanging out after practice, and everyone is putting in the work.
“It’s a new coaching staff. We are playing real football now.”
The Meteors are optimistic as the program returns to the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III after four years competing as an independent. The reason: several athletes who gained valuable experience last season when Montrose won three games.
Sawyer Aukema had an impact as a freshman. He started in the backfield, played some quarterback and excelled at linebacker. Weston Nabywaniec was a quarterback. Tim David played at running back, and Liam MacNamee and Evan McComb are talented receivers.
Each of them also started defensively for the Meteors.
“It’s been great,” Aukema said. “Coach pushes us all to get better. He is a great coach in his first year, helping to build the program. We have had a lot of team bonding in the first five practices and a lot of hard work that is going to pay off for us.”
Montrose had a lively practice with returning players in the trenches.
Five returning starters – Ethan Smith, Jacob Susz, Brayden Heaton, Christian Baker, and Julian Repchick – worked hard on the blocking sled and during tackle drills.
“I have seen a lot of development from everybody,” Repchick said. “We are coming together as a team so much better. We have grown from seventh grade up and have that team chemistry. … We are all working together and getting better, pushing each other to get better.”
Montrose will scrimmage against Sayre at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Meteors open the season Aug. 28 at home against Nativity BVM at 7 p.m.
Aug. 22 scrimmage schedule
Scranton Prep at East Stroudsburg South with Notre Dame Green Pond, 9 a.m.
Wyoming Area at Abington Heights, 10 a.m.
Scranton at Pittston Area, 10 a.m.
Honesdale at Valley View, 10 a.m.
Dallas at Dunmore, 10 a.m.
Lakeland at Schuylkill Haven, 10 a.m.
Carbondale Area at Mid Valley, 10 a.m.
Riverside at Wyoming Valley West, 10 a.m.
Lake-Lehman at Western Wayne, 10 a.m.
Lackawanna Trail at Wyalusing Valley, 10 a.m.
Holy Redeemer at Old Forge, 10 a.m.
Delaware Valley at Bethlehem Liberty, 11 a.m.
Shamokin at North Pocono, 11 a.m.
Wallenpaupack at Pleasant Valley, 11 a.m.
West Scranton at Berwick, 11 a.m.
Wilson Area at Susquehanna, 12 p.m.
Sayre at Montrose, 1 p.m.