2024 Pigskin & Hoops Preview: Royal Valley Panthers
TEAM: Royal Valley Panthers
CLASSIFICATION: 2A (down from 3A in 2023)
LEAGUE: Big East
COLORS: Purple & Silver
SOCIAL MEDIA: @RV337 on Twitter
HEAD COACH: David Boucher (4th season, 6-21)
2023 RECORD: 3-6 (lost in 3A first round)
2023 IN REVIEW
Year over year, Royal Valley football continues to show improvement. The Panthers won three games last season, equaling their total from the previous two years combined, and after snapping their two-year losing streak in district play in 2022, they won a pair of district games in 2023. Royal Valley capped last season with a pair of wins, the program’s first back-to-back wins since October 2015, and did so thanks in large part to a dominant rushing attack. The Panthers finished seventh in Class 3A in rushing yards last season at a clip of 251.3 yards per game.
KEY DEPARTURES
A majority of the Panthers’ contributors from last season are back for another year, although a pair of award winners have graduated. That includes Aiden McKinzey, a first-team All-Big 7 defensive back who tallied multiple takeaways last season, as well as honorable mention kicker Tyson Parks.
TOP RETURNERS
Royal Valley has nearly its entire defense coming back for 2024 with nine starters from last year’s unit returning. Notably, that includes senior linebacker Avery Hunter, an all-league honorable mention at that spot a year ago after piling up 85 tackles and 10 TFLs. Griffin Cumpton and Carter Geiger lead a deep, veteran secondary unit; Cumpton racked up 65 tackles and 7 pass break-ups last year while Geiger made another 35 stops and had a pair of takeaways. In the trenches, the offensive and defensive lines will be anchored by veterans Mason Erwin, Robert Griffith Jr. and Josh Rodewald. Offensively, the Panthers’ dynamic rushing attack will be led by senior running back Jaxson Stevens, a first-team All-Big 7 pick after rushing for nearly 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023.
2024 SCHEDULE
9/6 vs Hiawatha
9/13 @ Jeff West
9/20 vs Holton
9/27 @ Sabetha
10/4 @ Perry-Lecompton
10/11 vs ACCHS
10/18 @ Nemaha Central
10/25 vs Oskaloosa
Big East League, District Game
2024 OUTLOOK
There is, rightfully, a ton of positivity surrounding the Royal Valley program entering this season. The Panthers are bringing plenty of talent back for another year, and that experience is invaluable for a team that’s trying to stay on the ascent for another campaign. Royal Valley is moving from Class 3A to 2A this season and is also shifting to the state’s new super league, the Big East, which means the schedule will be full of high-profile opponents week in and week out. That means more and more challenges for coach David Boucher’s group, but it’s also an exciting opportunity for one of the league’s most experienced programs and most dynamic rushing attacks to truly make a lasting impact. In a league and district full of contenders, don’t be surprised to see Royal Valley threaten to make huge strides and to improve its win total yet again this year.
FROM THE COACH’S HEADSET
“The 2024 campaign will be exciting for our RV Panthers. Year 4 for our staff, this senior class is our first freshman group. As a collective group we have grown our focused hard work over the past years. Following that our confidence and positive energy has grown and our love for each other. There is no doubt that our strength and conditioning work is paying off, based on our testing numbers and eye tests of our kids. We think they feel confidence growing, now we have to go out and prove it. Dropping to 2A raises questions and having a new league is interesting. We are attacking our opportunities to get stronger and better as a team and program.” – David Boucher
–Brendan Dzwierzynski
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